As the title of On Writing Well says it will provide you guidance on how to write excellent non-fiction.
It includes biographical writing, memoirs, news articles, humor, critiques, science and technology, travel, sports, entertainment, and other non-fiction genres. This book will cover all of those.
The book shares with us many interesting aphorisms, anecdotes, and writing examples of great writers from the time when this book was last updated by the author himself, which are eye-opening, educational, and engaging at the same time.
This book isn’t as much about the technicalities of writing but it’s about the elegance, flow, rhythm, soul, vision, and the structure of written work that makes great writing great.
Technicalities can be taught by anyone but teaching approach and discernment of great vs good writing without enforcing elitist measures is the work of a master who has lived the craft.
William Zinsser is exactly that.
The Review
The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about this book is that it’s full of personality and warmth. It feels like sitting in one of William Zinsser’s great writing classes, which he taught at various esteemed universities.
It also feels like you are sitting with him by the fireplace to discuss this intimate craft of self-expression through words.
Reading it feels like you are speaking with someone who understands the things that excite you and trouble you as a writer.
Having taught numerous students he comes with a full perspective on what young writers, by experience and not age, struggle with.
The book is immaculately written and gives you the confidence that you are reading from someone who knows what he’s saying.
Now while writing this review, I can think of many things he taught about taking the reader on a journey with you as their trusted guide and how to give words life but one example that sticks out to me readily is an essay by E. B. White, who is widely known for his character Stuart Little.
The Hen (An Appreciation) by E. B White is an essay on the life of a hen and it’s one of the uncanniest of topics but the way he has written it makes it one of the most mindlessly engaging pieces of writing that anyone can read.
While talking about the hen he speaks about the world at the time in vivid detail and in a manner that seems coherent, organic, and relevant to the topic as well.
Providing a full perspective of everything discussed.
Zinsser said that’s the mark of a great writer who can make the most mundane or dull of the topics an adventure by virtue of their writing, which is full of surprises and the writer’s passion for their subject.
Since then, I have thought about it a lot.
About how I can bring that flare to my writing without losing my voice as a writer.
A great reference point.
And this is where On Writing Well shines the brightest.
It doesn’t enforce rules but gives you various perspectives to look at writing.
It does cover some technicalities of writing but only the essential ones.
Things like getting a thesaurus, other essential writing tools, and structure. Other than that, it’s mostly about perspective and vision.
The book primarily focuses on the simplification of prose.
This book was released before the advent of blogging and while its advice may seem for internet writing, given by en number of bloggers nowadays, who might have picked it from this book or similar ones but the insight in the book goes many layers deeper than that.
It makes you picture it in a way that you understand it doesn’t get in the way of elegant and impactful writing. From my experience, I attest that non-fiction writing is not about elaborate descriptions of scenes, people, and their personalities.
Non-fiction writing is about making a point and you only elaborate on things that emphasize it effectively.
At 303 pages long, the book gets slightly repetitive by the end but consider it as the revision of things you learn in the book.
Pages to hammer down those important concepts.
If you are a reader from the US you can purchase this book from Amazon by clicking here.
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Conclusion
On Writing Well is not a one-time read but it’s a book that you should revisit over the years to remind yourself of the teachings covered in it.
Just now I referenced the book for writing this review and I immediately thought looking at the index that I have forgotten some of the crucial concepts already. I thought I must reread a couple of chapters that will help me with my current writer’s block.
I fully recommend this to every writer, it’s a rarity to find a book worth revisiting. Especially one on writing well.
