Make the reader smile and you’ve got him for at least one more paragraph. Try to give that sentence an extra twist of humor or surprise. Take special care with the last sentence of each paragraph - it’s the crucial springboard to the next paragraph. Hard details that tell the reader why the piece was written and why he ought to read.Įvery paragraph should amplify the one that preceded it. It must cajole him with freshness, or novelty, or paradox, or humor, or surprise, or with an unusual idea, or an interesting fact, or a question. Your lead must capture the reader immediately and force him to keep reading. And if the second sentence doesn’t induce him to continue to the third sentence, it’s equally dead. If it doesn’t induce the reader to proceed to the second sentence, your article is dead. The most important sentence in any article is the first one. Unity of mood.Įvery successful piece of nonfiction should leave the reader with one provocative thought that he or she didn’t have before. The only way to learn to write is to force yourself to produce a certain number of words on a regular basis.Īll writing is ultimately a question of solving a problem. Read everything aloud before letting it go out into the world. The Elements of Style, a book every writer should read once a year. The Thesaurus is to the writer what a rhyming dictionary is to the songwriter - a reminder of all the choices. Learned by reading the kind of writing I wanted to do and trying to figure out how they did it. It's the failure of the writer to reach for anything but the nearest cliché: Please yourself, and you will also entertain the readers. If it amuses you in the act of writing, put it in. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time.Įxamine every word: a surprising number don’t serve any purpose.Ī writer will do anything to avoid the act of writing. Clear thinking becomes clear writing one can’t exist without the other.Ĭonstantly ask: what am I trying to say? Then ask: have I said it? Strip every sentence to its cleanest components.Ĭlear our heads of clutter. Just because they’re writing fluently doesn’t mean they’re writing well.Įstablish a daily schedule and stick to it. Great blunt advice about writing better non-fiction. Go to the Amazon page for details and reviews. On Writing Well - by William Zinsser | Derek Sivers Derek Sivers On Writing Well - by William Zinsser

On writing well by william zinsser