Introduction, p. viii.
On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976)
William Zinsser: 30 quotes1 like
Famous William Zinsser Quotes
“Nobody ever stopped reading E. B. White or V. S. Pritchett because the writing was too good.”
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 13, Bits & Pieces, p. 130.
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 21, A Writers Decisions: Organizing a Long Article, p. 254.
“If you write for yourself, you'll reach all the people you want to write for.”
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 12, Writing About Yourself: The Memoir, p. 98.
“Good writing is lean and confident.”
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 13, Bits & Pieces, p. 114.
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 2, Simplicity, p. 7.
William Zinsser Quotes about learning
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 13, Bits & Pieces, p. 136.
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 6, Words, p. 36.
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 13, Bits & Pieces, p. 136.
William Zinsser Quotes
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 3, Clutter, p. 13
“Memoir is the art of inventing the truth.”
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 12, Writing About Yourself: The Memoir, p. 99.
“The writer who cares about usage must always know the quick from the dead.”
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 7, Usage, p. 45.
“All writing is ultimately a question of solving a problem.”
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 8, Unity, p. 49.
“I've never heard anybody smile.”
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 10, Writing About People: The Interview, p. 74.
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 20, Humor, p. 246.
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 11, Writing About Places: The Travel Article, p. 80.
Introduction, p. vii.
On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976)
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 11, Writing About Places: The Travel Article, p. 91.
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 9, Nonfiction as Literature, p. 61.
“A writer will do anything to avoid the act of writing.”
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 4, Style, p. 21.
“Journalism is writing that first appears in any periodic journal.”
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 9, Nonfiction as Literature, p. 61.
“Be a writer. Write things down.”
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 10, Writing About People: The Interview, p. 70.
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 2, Simplicity, p. 12.
“You are writing for yourself.”
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 5, The Audience, p. 26.
“You must find some way to elevate your act of writing into entertainment.”
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 22, Write as Well as You Can, p. 276.
“Nobody becomes Tom Wolfe overnight, not even Tom Wolfe.”
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 4, Style, p. 20.
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 1, The Transaction, p. 6.
“Good writers are visible just behind their words.”
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 4, Style, p. 23.
“It's a fitting irony that under Richard Nixon "launder" became a dirty word.”
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 7, Usage, p. 47.
“If you lose the dullards back in the dust, that's where they belong. You don't want them anyway.”
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 5, The Audience, p. 26.
