How to Strengthen Your Writing

In early March, I started reading On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Nonfiction by William Zinsser, a book that has sold more than a million copies since it was first published in 1976.

A few days later, I learned that my alma mater—where I earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism almost three decades ago—is shuttering its communications division. Current students are upset, of course, but I understand the market forces that led to this decision. The field has changed dramatically over the years, and the university is doing its best to keep up with the times.

Rather than fire up in me some desire to fight for the journalism program, the news mostly brought back memories of my dear professor, Mr. Fred Lollar.

Mr. Lollar taught my classmates and me how to use copy editing symbols and write a compelling first paragraph (known as a “lede” in the journalism business). More importantly, he provided a listening ear and grandfatherly wisdom to a timid young reporter who—as I look back on it—had potential but also was afraid of the tiniest possibility of failure.

On Writing Well—the latest in a number of books I’ve read recently to help me strengthen my writing chops—reminds me of Mr. Lollar too. Zinsser also was an old-school journalist-turned-college-professor. He started out in the newspaper business, spent decades freelancing for leading magazines, and wrote many books besides On Writing Well.

His dry wit makes me laugh out loud, even though nobody else in my house understands why I think it’s funny. The first half of the book, especially, is replete with useful advice about everything from style and semicolons to adverbs and overstatement. If my copy had not been from the library, it would have been covered in green highlighter by the time I finished it.

For some people, reading books about writing sounds almost as thrilling as watching paint dry (to use a worn-out cliché, which—of course—Zinsser discourages). If you love words, though, and are always on the lookout for ways to string them together more effectively, you might enjoy On Writing Well as much as I did.

Here are a few of my favorite takeaways from the book:

What writing is, and who can do it:

“Writing is thinking on paper. Anyone who thinks clearly can write clearly, about anything at all.”

On the writing process:

“Writers must … constantly ask: what am I trying to say? Surprisingly often they don’t know. Then they must look at what they have written and ask: have I said it? Is it clear to someone encountering the subject for the first time? If it’s not, some fuzz has worked its way into the machinery. The clear writer is someone clearheaded enough to see this stuff for what it is: fuzz.”

On editing yourself:

“Look for the clutter in your writing and prune it ruthlessly. Be grateful for everything you can throw away. Reexamine each sentence you put on paper. Is every word doing new work? Can any thought be expressed with more economy? Is anything pompous or pretentious or faddish? Are you hanging on to something useless just because you think it’s beautiful? Simplify, simplify.”

On using your own voice:

“Never say anything in writing that you wouldn’t comfortably say in conversation. If you’re not a person who says ‘indeed’ or ‘moreover,’ or who calls someone an individual (‘he’s a fine individual’), please don’t write it.”

On pruning unnecessary qualifiers:

“Don’t say you were a bit confused and sort of tired and a little depressed and somewhat annoyed. Be confused. Be tired. Be depressed. Be annoyed. Don’t hedge your prose with little timidities. Good writing is lean and confident.”

How to write about yourself:

“Make sure every component in your writing is doing useful work. Write about yourself, by all means, with confidence and with pleasure. But see that all the details—people, places, events, anecdotes, ideas, emotions—are moving your story steadily along.”

How to end:

“When you’re ready to stop, stop. If you have presented all the facts and made the point you want to make, look for the nearest exit.”

♥ Lois (Do you see what I just did there?)

P.S. I’m linking up this week with One Word 2021 Linkup, #tellhisstory, InstaEncouragements, Recharge Wednesday, Let’s Have Coffee, #HeartEncouragement and Grace & Truth.