Quote

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.

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
Stills
Precise
Still
Element
Trying
Useful
Work
Stronger
Tighter
Much
Elements
Aloud
Every
Cutting
Clutter
Make
Written
Eliminating
Always
Reading
Amazed

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If writing seems hard, it's because it is hard. It's one of the hardest things people do.
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Clutter is the disease of American writing.
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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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The best way to learn to write is to study the work of the men and women who are doing the kind of writing you want to do.
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If you write for yourself, you'll reach all the people you want to write for.
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Writing is not a special language that belongs to a few sensitive souls who have a 'gift for words'. Writing is the logical arrangement of thought. Anyone who thinks clearly should be able to write clearly---about any subject at all.
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Thought is action in rehearsal.
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