- Paperback: 321 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; 30 Anv edition (31 May 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0060891548
- ISBN-13: 978-0060891541
- Product Dimensions: 13.5 x 1.9 x 20.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 179,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
On Writing Well has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity and the warmth of its style. It is a book for everybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get through the day, as almost everybody does in the age of e-mail and the Internet. Whether you want to write about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts or about yourself in the increasingly popular memoir genre, On Writing Well offers you fundamental priciples as well as the insights of a distinguished writer and teacher. With more than a million copies sole, this volume has stood the test of time and remains a valuable resource for writers and would-be writers.
About the Author
William Zinsser has been a mentor for countless people who want to write with clarity and confidence. His eighteen books include the classic On Writing Well, which has sold almost 1.5 million copies. He now teaches at the New School and at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
A school in Connecticut once held "a day devoted to the arts," and I was asked if I would come and talk about writing as a vocation. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
A school in Connecticut once held "a day devoted to the arts," and I was asked if I would come and talk about writing as a vocation. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Desktop friend,
By
This review is from: On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (Paperback)
As a novice writer, in 1999 I bought my first copy of 'On Writing Well' and discovered a real gem.So straightforward and sensible, this book 'cuts to the chase' as it brings to the reader the nuts and bolts of writing non-fiction in a delightful manner. I note that a revised [35th] edition will be published in 2011. Not only have I re-read my copy several times, I have recently bought copies for friends and family to let them share in practical advice the author has put across with such flair and wit. I strongly recommend 'On Writing Well' together with the superb companion book: ' The Elements of Style' by W Strunk and E B White. R C Chartres, Perthshire, UK
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Serves my writing well,
By Mr. SD Halliday "Economics Grad Student" (Siena, Italy; Cape Town, South Africa; London, England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (Paperback)
Zinsser's book, first published in the 70s, is part how-to, part autobiography and part travelogue. I say travelogue because he writes by telling us about the landmarks in 'good writing', the individuals who populate it and the methods that we should adopt to understand and better relate to good writing. His book verges on ethnography.Echoing messages from Strunk & White; Booth, Colomb & Williams; McCloskey; Cook and several others, Zinsser endorses a writing style derived from accurate verbs and precise nouns. I believe this is the best advice he could give and he provides many motivations for his claims about style. One Amazon reviewer felt let-down by Zinsser's continuous referral to his own writing processes, the reviewer wanted something even more 'how-to'. I found this criticism odd. Zinsser describes a method to write, contextualised in his work. He repeats that a writer needs to write and edit, write and edit. He describes several ways to do this. He instructs the reader on methods for given subject matter and applies his methods by conjuring examples from his extensive knowledge of good writing, as well as his acquaintance with poor writing. Additionally, I have not read any writing guide that was 'independent' of its author, in fact if such a guide were written it would probably be hollow and vapid. For example, Strunk & White's The Elements of Style, my preferred editing and style guide, is definitely not independent of White's preferences. So I say read the book and enjoy Zinsser's insight into writing well. I treasure this book already, both for its content and for the list of references to high quality writing. I shall probably refer to it many times in the future.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Buy this book if you want a breezy, self-congratulatory guide to writing American Journalism,
By
This review is from: On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (Library Binding)
Zinsser made his name as a journalist on the New York Herald Tribune, and it shows. His instruction on how to write is superficial, racing over sports writing, memoirs, science, business and so on. If you want to write like a journalist, fun but not deep, there are some good examples here.He teaches by example, rarely explaining how to do it yourself. His examples are often clunky - not great writing. The worst are from his own writing - some dull and superficial. If you don't know a lot about American culture or journalism, much of the book will fall flat. To use one chapter properly you will need to appreciate Red Smith, baseball reporter from the New York Herald Tribune. Examples from his own writing are self-congratulatory: he tells us we'll never look at hair-curlers in the same way again, after reading him lampoon them, and that we'll be irrevocably hooked by his enthralling openings. I wasn't. The book is well written - in his jaunty newsman's style. It is easy to read. It has some quirky and interesting examples. But if you want to write better, read Strunk & White for yourself, and perhaps Stanley Fish's "How to Write a Sentence" - not perfect, but something that actually deconstructs good writing and shows why it works.
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