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I almost always urge people to write in the first person. ... Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it.

William Zinsser

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William Zinsser
Age: 92 †
Born: 1922
Born: October 7
Died: 2015
Died: May 12
Journalist
Literary Critic
Writer
New York City
New York
William Knowlton Zinsser
Firsts
Admit
Well
Ego
First
Almost
Writing
Write
Always
Persons
People
Person
Wells
Urge
Might
Urges

More quotes by William Zinsser

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The writer who cares about usage must always know the quick from the dead.
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The only way to learn to write is to force yourself to produce a certain number of words on a regular basis.
William Zinsser
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Good writing is lean and confident.
William Zinsser
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Writing is thinking on paper.
William Zinsser
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Make a habit of reading what is being written today and what has been written before. Writing is learned by imitation.
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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.
William Zinsser
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One of the saddest sentences I know is I wish I had asked my mother about that. Or my father. Or my grandmother. Or my grandfather. As every parent knows, our children are not as fascinated by our fascinating lives as we are.
William Zinsser
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Writing is a craft not an art.
William Zinsser
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Good writing has an aliveness that keeps the reader reading from one paragraph to the next, and it's not a question of gimmicks to personalize the author.
William Zinsser
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Never hesitate to imitate another writer - every person learning a craft or an art needs models. Eventually you'll find your own voice and will shed the skin of the writer you imitated.
William Zinsser
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Nobody ever stopped reading E. B. White or V. S. Pritchett because the writing was too good.
William Zinsser
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Dare to tell the smallest of stories if you want to generate large emotions.
William Zinsser
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No one has something original or important to say will willing we run the risk of being misunderstood people who write obscurely are either unskilled in writing or up to mischief
William Zinsser
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Fighting clutter is like fighting weeds-the writer is always slightly behind.
William Zinsser
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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.
William Zinsser
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There's no sentence that's too short in the eyes of God.
William Zinsser
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A clear sentence is no accident.
William Zinsser
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Four basic premises of writing: clarity, brevity, simplicity, and humanity.
William Zinsser
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There's no subject you don't have permission to write about. Students often avoid subjects close to their heart ... because they assume that their teachers will regard those topics as 'stupid.' No area of life is stupid to someone who takes it seriously. If you follow your affections you will write well and will engage your readers.
William Zinsser
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Even a poor translator couldn't kill a style that moves with such narrative clarity.
William Zinsser