On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (On Writing Well) (book)

This book contains all of the rules and mistakes that writers of any sort should know about. It is not especially fun to read, but Zinsser keeps it interesting with concise information and great examples. This is a resource I will refer back to forever.

William Zinsser is the master of placing your derailed writing back on the track. Our culture seems to demand haughty language intended more to impress than to communicate. Zinsser reminds us to simplify our writing, drop the clichýs and improve through revision.

Zinsser is an accomplished writer and I thoroughly enjoyed On Writing Well. I can imagine reading this book once a year to improve my writing fitness.

I purchsed this book because I was looking to write better at work (I'm a management consultant). As I began reading, I quickly realized that it was not the "don't put prepositions at the end of a sentence" (although, he actually debunks that somewhat)...Point being, I learned so much more about writing than I ever thought I would, and the benefits accrued immediately -- the following Monday, I could see the results already (and so could my Boss). And the book is a pleasure to read -- it makes you more conscious of how writer's write, making reading other author's less pleasurable now , or at least realizing their flaws more readily. I would highly recommend this book to those who want to be better writers, no matter their ultimate goal, and even those who just love reading, and want to better understand the craft of writing.

There is something in this book for everyone -- including all fields of nonfiction AND fiction. It is just a good book on writing well. If you are a writer, I recommend spending $10 to read through this. If there is nothing new -- this would surprise me -- then it is a great review of topics on writing well. This is an excellent companion for those who have read Strunk and White. This is especially true for college students who are going to have to start writing essays. You won't be disappointed.

I am now reading - "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser - and its delightful. I enjoyed every page of the book - the conversational tone and liberal doses of humorous anecdotes. Initially I was hesitant to buy the book after reading the "2 star" reviews in Amazon. Many of them took offence at the authors tone and his rather forthright views on famous American politicians.


But I found the book enjoyable and every bit of it is relevant and fits together. It is written in a way that behooves us to put the material into action immediately. Now is the tough part of finding my own distinctive style of writing - and doing it well. I am looking forward to the practice and also reading through the book again and digesting the material.