Friday, October 02, 2009
"On Writing Well" Still Matters
Thirty-three years and seven editions later, William Zinsser’s On Writing Well is as relevant as ever. Zinsser divided the book into four parts (Principles, Methods, Forms, and Attitudes), so it’s easy to get just the ideas you’re looking for. The opening and closing sections are most instructive for the developing nonfiction writer, and the Forms section is generous in examples of descriptive writing from authors like Woody Allen, Alfred Kazin, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Eudora Welty. Here’s the link:
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A participant in one of my workshops, D. Hom, asked a question about hyphenating expressions such as “end of year.” Determining what to h...
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Chances are that for any viewpoint we take or for any choice we make, the spirit philosopher is not far away, saying, “Been there, don... -
READER QUESTION Could you settle an office dispute over whether the word “trainings” is legitimate? We might use it in a sentence...