Like many idea-Xchange members, I am a professional writer. My livelihood depends on my ability to wrangle the written word well — and my personal satisfaction depends on it too. Last night I discovered a book at Barnes and Noble called “On Writing Well - The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction” by William Zinsser. This book is an absolute must-read for the nonfiction writer. After having read only one-third of it, I rewrote my last lenablog post. I couldn’t help it. Clutter (unneeded words) were everywhere. Eep! Oh, by the way, Zinsser is an excellent pianist and also writes about jazz musicians, among other things. He’s my people! Enjoy.
Comments:
4 Comments posted on "On Writing Well"
Arnie Bernstein on January 14th, 2008 at 11:16 am #
I reread “On Writing Well” at least once a year as a refresher; filled with great advice! I do the same with Strunk & White, which, for my money, is the single best writing guide around. Omit needless words!
Jenni Prokopy on January 15th, 2008 at 5:49 pm #
hey, so what’s the lenablog? link please!
Rickey Gold on January 15th, 2008 at 6:43 pm #
I’ve got Strunk & White on my “to order” list. Thanks, Helena. I’m going to add “On Writing Well” to it since it’s so highly recommended. Another suggestion (which came from my favorite writing coach, Daphne Grant-Gray) is “Pop! Stand Out In Any Crowd”. Has anyone read that? btw…you can sign up for Daphne’s super short weekly e-newsletter, “Power Writing”, at http://www.publicationcoach.com Almost forgot, whenever I order from Amazon, I get there via chronicbabe.com
Helena B on January 22nd, 2008 at 4:32 pm #
Jenni - lenablog can be found at http://helenabouchez.blogspot.com. I put the link in the post, too. Thanks! Post a comment
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