Here are my notes taken while reading On Writing Well by William Zinsser.
The 4 basic principles
- Clarity: Goal in writing, hard to achieve.
- Simplicity: Strip the language down, don't inflate. Simple style hard work.
- Brevity: Short is better than long, most adjectives are unnecessary . Learn to cut, enjoy cutting. Strip down to essentials. Cut last thing you wrote by 50%
- Humanity: Be natural, be yourself.
Quotes (paraphrased)
- I'll never forget the day I …
- Add life to the writing.
- We like writers who we most relate to.
- Your style is you, when someone says they like your writing they are saying they like you.
- Writing has ego and confidence. Self esteem , self discipline.
- You are writing for yourself.
- Writing is visual it catches the eye before it gets a chance to catch the brain.
- Be specific and concrete.
- Verbs and nouns specifically active verbs.
- Read everything out loud. Listen to what you write.
- Verbs and nouns specifically active verbs.
- Trust the process.
Auto Biography vs Memoir
- Auto Biography: The whole story.
- Memoir: Assumes the whole, focuses on one aspect of the life, self contained story set in a particular time, think small. Make it an honest connection with your past.