On Writing Well - William Zinsser

[snird]

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53343.On_Writing_Well

 

I'm halfway through this book, 7th edition, and I'm amazed by how good and capturing it is.

It flows in a way that I rarely see in the written medium, and absolutely not in such a consistent way.

The book itself is a master example in good writing.

 

It showed me that a good writer can create such a flow to his writings to capture attention the I long thought impossible in writing.

Youtube fast pace videos medium, and more recently super-fast pace short videos like TikTok came to be the gold standard of attention capturing.

I thought that writings, and non-fiction more than anything, is doomed in this competition - but apparently it is not.

 

Granted, I can't imagine how hard it must have been to get the book to this amazing level. But experiencing it has been a lesson in itself.

 

Any other thoughts on this book?

This is the first book on writing that I've read, there may be others that can blow my mind equally - I'd appreciate tips if you know of any.

[dwy000]

Try "On Writing" by Stephen King (yes, that Stephen King).  I have no interest in being a writer and only picked this up because somebody gave it to me but I couldn't put it down.  Shows what a good writer he is that he could make almost a textbook interesting. 

[tooskinneejs]

I enjoyed HBR Guide to Better Business Writing.

 

(kept that short in the spirit of good writing)

[ratiman]

 The first words of the first chapter are "A school in Connecticut once held a "Day devoted to the arts" . . . "  WHO CARES? I can't imagine an introduction less likely to get the reader hooked.

Edited May 10, 2022 by ratiman

[dwy000]

17 hours ago, ratiman said:

 The first words of the first chapter are "A school in Connecticut once held a "Day devoted to the arts" . . . "  WHO CARES? I can't imagine an introduction less likely to get the reader hooked.

It picks up in the 2nd chapter with the car chase scene

[ratiman]

"A police department in Florida once held a "Day devoted to public safety"  . . . "