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Quote by William Zinsser

“Finding a voice that your readers will enjoy is largely a matter of taste. Saying that isn't much help-taste is a quality so intangible that it can't even be defined. But we know it when we meet it.”

Quote by William Zinsser

Author

William Zinsser

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. more

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“Writers the most learned, the most accurate in details, and the soundest in tendency, frequently fall into a habit which can neither be cured nor pardoned,-the habit of making history into the proof of their theories.”

Writing Fall Learning Theory Habit Historical Details Proof Tendencies Accurate Making History

Book:The History of Freedom (and other Essays)

Source: The History of Freedom (and other Essays)

“The greatest thing by far is to have a command of metaphor. This alone cannot be imparted by another; it is the mark of genius, for to make good metaphors implies an eye for resemblances.”

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Book:Poetics

Source: Poetics

“In general, what is written must be easy to read and easy to speak; which is the same.”

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Author:Aristotle

“Our sufferings and weaknesses, in so far as they are personal, are of no literary interest whatsoever. They are only interesting in so far as we can see them as typical of the human condition.”

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Author:W. H. Auden

“Once the grammar has been learned, writing is simply talking on paper and in time learning what not to say.”

Writing Has Beens Talking Paper Grammar

Author:Beryl Bainbridge

“Say what you want about it, Hell is story-friendly... The mechanisms of hell are nicely attuned to the mechanisms of narrative. Not so the pleasures of Paradise. Paradise is not a story. It's about what happens when the stories are over.”

Want Writing Stories Happens Pleasure Hell What You Want Narrative Paradise Friendly Mechanism

Author:Charles Baxter

“It's very hard to write about that which is always beautiful and pleasant and good. You don't get anywhere with it. There's no friction in it. There's no trouble. You have to have trouble. Somebody's got to get in trouble, or no one wants to read it.”

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Author:Paul Bowles

“Publishers are thieves, they are on the other side of the barricade.”

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Author:Paul Bowles

“When I write a page that reads badly I know that it is myself who has written it. When it reads well it has come through from somewhere else.”

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Author:Gerald Brenan

“I chart a little first-list of names, rough synopsis of chapters, and so on. But one daren't overplan; so many things are generated by the sheer act of writing.”

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Book:Conversations with Anthony Burgess

Source: Conversations with Anthony Burgess