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William Zinsser Quotes

Writer

William Zinsser was an American writer renowned for his concise, clear, and humorous writing style. His works spanned a variety of fields including literature, history, and practical writing, with his most famous titles being 'On Writing Well' and 'American Writing'. Zinsser's writing style has had a profound impact on modern writing.

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All Writing Ifs Reader Want Sentences Thinking People Written Knows Trying Write Writer Writing Well Hard On Writing Writes Art On Writing Well Reading Subjects

Famous William Zinsser Quotes

“Writing organizes and clarifies our thoughts. Writing is how we think our way into a subject and make it our own. Writing enables us to find out what we know-and what we don't know-about whatever we're trying to learn.”

Thinking Knows Way Writing Trying Subjects Organize Our Thoughts

Author:William Zinsser

“Be yourself and your readers will follow you anywhere. Try to commit an act of writing and they will jump overboard to get away.”

Writing Trying Reader Commit Being Yourself Get Away Overboard Writing Well

Author:William Zinsser

“Writers must constantly ask: what I am trying to say? Surprisingly often, they don't know.”

Knows Trying Asks

Author:William Zinsser

“As a writer I try to operate within a framework of Christian principles, and the words that are important to me are religious words: witness, pilgrimage, intention.”

Trying Important Christian Religious Principles Intention Witness Framework Pilgrimage

Author:William Zinsser

“Many writers are paralyzed by the thought that they are competing with everybody else who is trying to write and presumably doing it better.... Forget the competition and go at your own pace. Your only contest is with yourself.”

Writing Trying Forget Competition Pace Competing Contests Paralyzed

Author:William Zinsser

“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.”

Ifs Men Writing Trying Kind Wanted Reading Figures He Man Men And Women Imitation

Book:On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction

Source: On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction

“Writing is such lonely work that I try to keep myself cheered up. If something strikes me as funny in the act of writing, I throw it in just to amuse myself. If I think it's funny I assume a few other people will find it funny, and that seems to me to be a good day's work.”

People Ifs Thinking Writing Trying Seems Lonely Assuming Strikes Good Day

Author:William Zinsser

“Don't try to guess what sort of thing editors want to publish or what you think the country is in a mood to read. Editors and readers don't know what they want to read until they read it. Besides, they're always looking for something new.”

Thinking Knows Want Writing Trying Country Reader Mood Something New Editors Publish

Book:On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction

Source: On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction

“Don’t try to visualize the great mass audience. There is no such audience—every reader is a different person.”

Life Writing Trying Persons Different Audience Reader Mass

Book:On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction

Source: On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction

“Today the outlandish becomes routine overnight. The humorist is trying to say that it's still outlandish.”

Trying Stills Today Routine Humorists Outlandish

Author:William Zinsser

“I try to make what I have written tighter, stronger and more precise, eliminating every element that's not doing useful work. Then I go over it once more, reading it aloud, and am always amazed at how much clutter can still be cut.”

Trying Stills Reading Cutting Written Elements Stronger Over It Amazed Precise Clutter Eliminating

Book:On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction

Source: On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction

About the Author

Born: October 7, 1922
Died: May 12, 2015
Known for: Writer
Quotes: 150

Books & Sources

On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing NonfictionRelated source material

On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing NonfictionRelated source material

On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing NonfictionRelated source material

Writing about Your Life: A Journey Into the PastRelated source material

The Writer Who StayedRelated source material

ON WRITING WELL : THE CLASSIC GUIDE TO WRITING NONFICTIONRelated source material

Spring TrainingRelated source material

Worlds of Childhood: The Art and Craft of Writing for ChildrenRelated source material

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