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William Zinsser

William Zinsser Quotes

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Famous William Zinsser Quotes

“Write about small, self-contained incidents that are still vivid in your memory. If you remember them, it's because they contain a larger truth that your readers will recognize in their own lives. Think small and you'll wind up finding the big themes in your family saga.”

IfsThinkingWritingStillsSelfBigsRememberMemoriesWindReaderFindingsOur FamilyThemeVividIncidentsOur MemoriesSagaSelf Contained
Book:Writing about Your Life: A Journey Into the Past
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“Although the frankfurter originated in Frankfurt, Germany, we have long since made it our own, a twin pillar of democracy along with Mom's apple pie. In fact, now that Mom's apple pie comes frozen and baked by somebody who isn't Mom, the hot dog stands alone. What it symbolizes remains pure, even if what it contains does not.”

IfsLongDoeMadeFactsDemocracyDogFoodMomPureHotRemainsCookingMade ItGermanyApplesCulinaryTwinsPieFrozenPillarsStand AloneHot DogApple PieFrankfurt
Author:William Zinsser
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“All your clear and pleasing sentences will fall apart if you don't keep remembering that writing is linear and sequential, that logic is the glue that holds it together, that tension must be maintained from one sentence to the next and from one paragraph to the next and from one section to the next, and that narrative - good old-fashioned storytelling - is what should pull your readers along without their noticing the tug.”

IfsShouldWritingTogetherRememberFallNextClearReaderLogicSentencesStorytellingNarrativeTensionSectionsOld FashionedFalling ApartNoticingParagraphLinearGlueOne Sentence
Author:William Zinsser
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“Get people talking. Learn to ask questions that will elicit answers about what is most interesting or vivid in their lives. Nothing so animates writing as someone telling what he thinks or what he does - in his own words. His own words will always be better than your words, even if you are the most elegant stylist in the land.”

PeopleIfsThinkingWritingDoeAsksAnswersInterestingTalkingLandElegantVividMost InterestingStylistPeople Talking
Author:William Zinsser
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“If you would like to write better than everybody else, you have to want to write better than everybody else. You must take an obsessive pride in the smallest details of your craft. And you must be willing to defend what you've written against the various middlemen - editors, agents and publishers - whose sights may be different from yours, whose standards not so high.”

IfsWantWritingMayDifferentWrittenWillingPrideStandardsSightDetailsVariousCraftsAgentsEditorsSmallestPublishersObsessiveMiddlemen
Author:William Zinsser
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“There's no subject you don't have permission to write about. Students often avoid subjects close to their heart ... because they assume that their teachers will regard those topics as 'stupid.' No area of life is stupid to someone who takes it seriously. If you follow your affections you will write well and will engage your readers.”

IfsWritingWellsHeartLife IsTeacherSubjectsStupidStudentsReaderAreasRegardAssumingAffectionPermissionTopics
Author:William Zinsser
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“Tips can make someone a better writer but not necessarily a good writer. That's a larger package - a matter of character. Golfing is more than keeping the left arm straight. Every good golfer is a complex engine that runs on ability, ego, determination, discipline, patience, confidence, and other qualities that are self-taught. So it is with writers and all creative artists. If their values are solid their work is likely to be solid.”

IfsSelfMatterCharacterRunningArtistValuesLeftAbilityQualityCreativeTaughtArmsDisciplineEgoDeterminationComplexesVery GoodEnginesPackagesGolfersGolfingGood WritersCreative ArtCreative ArtistsSelf Taught
Author:William Zinsser
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“Writing is learned by imitation. If anyone asked me how I learned to write, I'd say I learned by reading the men and women who were doing the kind of writing I wanted to do and trying to figure out how they did it.”

IfsMenWritingTryingKindWantedReadingFiguresHe ManMen And WomenImitation
Book:On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction
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“Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it's because it is hard. It's one of the hardest things that people do”

PeopleIfsWritingFirstsHardMomentsRememberClearHard WorkDespairFirst TimeThirdsSentencesAccidentsHardestHardest ThingThird TimeWriting Well
Book:On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction
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