Quote

Never hesitate to imitate another writer. Imitation is part of the creative process for anyone learning an art or a craft. Bach and Picasso didn't spring full-blown as Bach or Picasso they needed models. This is especially true of writing.

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
Didn
Learning
Imitation
Part
Full
Craft
Writing
Creative
Crafts
Never
Anyone
Models
Bach
Process
Spring
Picasso
Art
Especially
Hesitate
Another
Writer
Imitate
True
Needed
Blown

More quotes by William Zinsser

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Writing and learning and thinking are the same process.
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Fighting clutter is like fighting weeds-the writer is always slightly behind.
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I try to make what I have written tighter, stronger and more precise, eliminating every element that's not doing useful work. Then I go over it once more, reading it aloud, and am always amazed at how much clutter can still be cut.
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Telling a writer to relax is like telling a man to relax while being prodded for a possible hernia.
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There are all kinds of writers and all kinds of methods, and any method that helps you to say what you want to say is the right method for you.
William Zinsser
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All writing is ultimately a question of solving a problem.
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My four articles of faith: clarity, simplicity, brevity and humanity.
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Probably every subject is interesting if an avenue into it can be found that has humanity and that an ordinary person can follow.
William Zinsser
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As a writer I try to operate within a framework of Christian principles, and the words that are important to me are religious words: witness, pilgrimage, intention.
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Don't be kind of bold. Be bold.
William Zinsser
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Four basic premises of writing: clarity, brevity, simplicity, and humanity.
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Never say anything in writing that you wouldn't comfortably say in conversation. Be yourself when you write. 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.
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A simple [writing] style is the result of very hard work.
William Zinsser
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A clear sentence is no accident.
William Zinsser
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If you write for yourself, you'll reach all the people you want to write for.
William Zinsser
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If a good word already exists, there is no need to invent something painful.
William Zinsser
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Much of my writing has taken the form of a pilgrimage: to sacred places that represent the best of America, to musicians and other artists who represent the best of their art.
William Zinsser
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A writer will do anything to avoid the act of writing.
William Zinsser
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It's a fitting irony that under Richard Nixon launder became a dirty word.
William Zinsser
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Writing is such lonely work that I try to keep myself cheered up. If something strikes me as funny in the act of writing, I throw it in just to amuse myself. If I think it's funny I assume a few other people will find it funny, and that seems to me to be a good day's work.
William Zinsser