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ivantable's review against another edition
5.0
I began reading William Zinsser's "The Writer Who Stayed" (a collection of essays published in the American Scholar) to pick up some writing tips; but I picked up infinitely more. I strongly recommend anyone interested in good and powerful writing to read this book.
Although I won't do Zinsser any justice, here are some quotes I copied down.
"I believe that anything can be cut to 300 words.... [T]he English language is endlessly supple. It will do anything you ask it to do, if you treat it well. Try it and see."
"Tips can make someone a better writer but not necessarily a good writer. That's a larger package—a matter of character.... In my own work I operate within a framework of Christian values, and the words that are important to me are religious words."
"There are many good reasons for writing your memoir that have nothing to do with being published. One is to leave your children and grandchildren a record of who you were and what heritage they were born into. Please get started on that; time tends to surprise us by running out. One of the saddest sentences I know is 'I wish I had asked my mother about that.' "
Teachers are put on the earth "to help students grow into the people they are supposed to become." I might add that the pastor is called, above all, to help sheep grow into the sheep they are supposed to become and one day will be.
Zinsser rails against multi-tasking and instead argues for mono-tasking and the importance of boredom. He writes: "Some of our most creative work gets done in downtime—waking from a nap, taking a walk, daydreaming in the shower.... Downtime is when breakthrough ideas are delivered to us, unsummoned, when yesterday's blockages somehow come unblocked. That's because we treated ourselves to a little boredom and cleared our brains of the sludge of information."
"I write by ear, and sound is what leads me to what I'm rummaging for."
Abraham Lincoln is "the writer I most often revisit to remind myself of the simple strength of the English language."
BTW, the NYTimes recently ran a heartwarming piece on Zinsser, who though now 90 and blind from glaucoma, continues to help writers. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/29/books/william-zinsser-author-of-on-writing-well-at-his-work.html
Although I won't do Zinsser any justice, here are some quotes I copied down.
"I believe that anything can be cut to 300 words.... [T]he English language is endlessly supple. It will do anything you ask it to do, if you treat it well. Try it and see."
"Tips can make someone a better writer but not necessarily a good writer. That's a larger package—a matter of character.... In my own work I operate within a framework of Christian values, and the words that are important to me are religious words."
"There are many good reasons for writing your memoir that have nothing to do with being published. One is to leave your children and grandchildren a record of who you were and what heritage they were born into. Please get started on that; time tends to surprise us by running out. One of the saddest sentences I know is 'I wish I had asked my mother about that.' "
Teachers are put on the earth "to help students grow into the people they are supposed to become." I might add that the pastor is called, above all, to help sheep grow into the sheep they are supposed to become and one day will be.
Zinsser rails against multi-tasking and instead argues for mono-tasking and the importance of boredom. He writes: "Some of our most creative work gets done in downtime—waking from a nap, taking a walk, daydreaming in the shower.... Downtime is when breakthrough ideas are delivered to us, unsummoned, when yesterday's blockages somehow come unblocked. That's because we treated ourselves to a little boredom and cleared our brains of the sludge of information."
"I write by ear, and sound is what leads me to what I'm rummaging for."
Abraham Lincoln is "the writer I most often revisit to remind myself of the simple strength of the English language."
BTW, the NYTimes recently ran a heartwarming piece on Zinsser, who though now 90 and blind from glaucoma, continues to help writers. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/29/books/william-zinsser-author-of-on-writing-well-at-his-work.html
nonna7's review against another edition
5.0
I'm often reminded of the many gaps in my education when I read a book by an author who just knocks my socks off only to discover that he's been around for years. In this case it's William Zinsser, a 90 yr old writer who, I'm sure, a great many in the literate world know, but I didn't until now.
If nothing else, he's known for his book On Writing Well. This slim volume is a collection of essays written by Mr. Zinsser in the digital world of the American Scholar.
He writes the way my professors in college taught us to write: clean, spare, and deceptively simple. That's an art that seems to be missing in some of the articles I read both in magazines and on websites. The prevailing attitude seems to be "Why write 300 words when you can write 600?" The book is divided into several sections, one of which deals in writing.
One of his writing "rules" is basically "pare it down." (Something I heard from my professors. I guess that was the way it was done then.) There is an elegance in Mr. Zinsser's writing that is missing among so many contemporary writers. He doesn't sacrifice truth nor does he sugarcoat. He DOES leave some things unsaid because they really don't NEED to be said.
He IS something of a curmudgeon. He detests people who say they have "issues." He says that today's issues are what "people used to call the routine hills and bumps of getting from morning to night." Then there's the whole concept of "sharing." He refers to the word "share" as "the word I most loathe in the feel-good lexicon."
I have to agree with him on that one. I've heard people talking together while a class or lecture is going on. The speaker stops and says, somewhat plaintively, "Do you have something to share?" William Zinsser would, I believe, simply stop what he was saying and say quite simply, "I'm speaking. It's not polite to talk when someone else is speaking." I'm with him.
This book is an eclectic and varied group of essays: 1. Culture And The Arts, 2. The Craft of Writing, 3. Tech Age, 4. Faraway Places, 5. Language, and 6. Reverberations. Every one of them is a gem. Whether he is talking about song lyrics or Blondie or email or language or a trip to Myanmar, Mr. Zinsser is entertaining, thought provoking and above all, a thoughtful and elegant writer. May he write for many more years because I'm not ready to say goodbye!
If nothing else, he's known for his book On Writing Well. This slim volume is a collection of essays written by Mr. Zinsser in the digital world of the American Scholar.
He writes the way my professors in college taught us to write: clean, spare, and deceptively simple. That's an art that seems to be missing in some of the articles I read both in magazines and on websites. The prevailing attitude seems to be "Why write 300 words when you can write 600?" The book is divided into several sections, one of which deals in writing.
One of his writing "rules" is basically "pare it down." (Something I heard from my professors. I guess that was the way it was done then.) There is an elegance in Mr. Zinsser's writing that is missing among so many contemporary writers. He doesn't sacrifice truth nor does he sugarcoat. He DOES leave some things unsaid because they really don't NEED to be said.
He IS something of a curmudgeon. He detests people who say they have "issues." He says that today's issues are what "people used to call the routine hills and bumps of getting from morning to night." Then there's the whole concept of "sharing." He refers to the word "share" as "the word I most loathe in the feel-good lexicon."
I have to agree with him on that one. I've heard people talking together while a class or lecture is going on. The speaker stops and says, somewhat plaintively, "Do you have something to share?" William Zinsser would, I believe, simply stop what he was saying and say quite simply, "I'm speaking. It's not polite to talk when someone else is speaking." I'm with him.
This book is an eclectic and varied group of essays: 1. Culture And The Arts, 2. The Craft of Writing, 3. Tech Age, 4. Faraway Places, 5. Language, and 6. Reverberations. Every one of them is a gem. Whether he is talking about song lyrics or Blondie or email or language or a trip to Myanmar, Mr. Zinsser is entertaining, thought provoking and above all, a thoughtful and elegant writer. May he write for many more years because I'm not ready to say goodbye!
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