

On writing well - streblo
http://www.cla.wayne.edu/polisci/kdk/general/sources/zinsser.htm

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mannicken
I think the problem comes from schools and universities. They force students
to think in volume (6 pages, 12 pages) when writing. Who is a better writer:
Julie, who wrote 12 pages of coherent paper or Mary, who stacked the same
essence in 4 pages of superb writing?

According to the guys who teach -- Mary should receive about an F on her paper
while Julie will get a B+.

~~~
unalone
There are many, many flaws with the school system. This is one of them. (The
other problem is that there are a lot of people who think they're Marys when
in reality they're just writing short, crappy essays.)

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tokenadult
The excerpted book

[http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-30th-Anniversary-
Nonficti...](http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-30th-Anniversary-
Nonfiction/dp/0060891548/)

is wonderful. I have my doubts about whether the professor who posted that
long excerpt on a public website really understands what "fair use" is about
in United States copyright law. But if readers read the excerpt after
following the link here and then buy the book, that would be a good outcome.

~~~
kajecounterhack
Yeah, I think the excerpt exceeds fair use length requirements. Still, while
reading two chapters is nice, it can't be worse than providing a one-chapter
excerpt. After all, the book is a package deal, and it's important to read the
whole thing if you plan on improving your writing.

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jgrahamc
When I signed my contract with O'Reilly to work on The Geek Atlas they sent me
a copy of this book as part of my 'welcome to the O'Reilly family' pack.

It's excellent. I'd recommend reading it and Strunk and White for anyone who
needs to write non-fiction.

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niv
I'm not sure I agree. Okay, English is not my primary language, but it largely
applies to Spanish. The so called "clutter" sometimes adds expresiveness. He
argues that "smile happily" is redundant. But not all smiles are happy smiles.
So the word is not dispensable at all.

~~~
mannicken
Compare:

Joe smiled happily.

Joe expressed his emotions of strong happiness through a certain smile.

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light3
After reading through it doesn't feel like there is much content in his
writing, anybody else have this feeling?

~~~
unalone
It's funny, because I have the exact opposite reaction. I think he makes good
points, but ruins it in that his own style is cluttered and more complex than
it needs to be. It's still great advice to follow: I see it as "do as I say,
not as I do."

~~~
gabrielroth
I agree, and I felt the same way when I read the whole book. It was hard for
me to learn anything about writing from someone whose own style is so flabby.

But the substance of his advice is good, and anyone who enjoys the style would
probably benefit from reading it. It's just kind of ironic that he's unable to
apply his own instructions.

~~~
unalone
Is it similar to _Elements of Style_ in its focus? (That book, of course, had
the most perfect phrasing: "Omit needless words.")

~~~
gabrielroth
According to my recollection, there's less of the nuts-&-bolts-of-grammar and
more about substance. E.g. Zinsser spends a lot of time arguing that you have
to have a deep understanding of a subject, and be able to think well about it,
to write well about it. Which ... sure, no doubt. But, um, not that helpful?
(At least not to me at the time.)

It's been a long time, though, and the book apparently has many fans on this
board who surely know it much better than I do. But no, less technical and
more discursive than Strunk & White.

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callmeed
I have this book on my desk right now. I read it every year. I also try to
keep an extra copy or two at home to give to friends who are serious about
blogging/writing well.

Best book on writing. Period.

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thenduks
On writing _good_

Haha. But seriously, _I_ found this very interesting :)

