Summary Of On Writing Well By Zinsser

Upon reading chapters one through four of “On Writing Well”, I’ve summarized the key ideas amongst these resourceful pages. In chapter one, “The Transaction”, Zinsser tells us to bring personality into writing, but at the same time to bring clarity and strength for the sake of the reader. Also, he tells us that in order to accomplish this action we have to find inspiration, or motivation to begin. According to his experience however, that has not been an easy task to fulfill. In transition to chapter two, “Simplicity”, Zinsser explains that the context of our writing should not be so challenging to comprehend for the reader. If the reader has to reread a sentence or two in attempt to distinguish what the writer is trying to say, reading the remainder of the work automatically becomes a burden, and they will not continue.
We as writers should not feel as if we have to complicate the ambience of our writing.
He says, “Our national tendency is to inflate and therefore sound important.” But, Zinsser describes this as unnecessary. In chapter three, “Clutter”, Zinsser points out that if you want to mean what you say, first you have to say what you mean. You should not neglect simplicity. By listing all these words that have no use in helping get your point across, you’re just creating clutter. Concluding the summaries; chapter four, “Style”, Zinsser says to just relax and have confidence. He states that “this is the problem with writers who set out to garnish their prose. You lose what makes you unique.” He explains how some writers feel as if no one will care about their opinions, but he believes that “people will care if you tell them something interesting.” He ends the chapter telling us to “Believe in your own identity and opinions. Writing is about
ego.” I believe that Zinsser’s advice is notably helpful. He points out a collection of mistakes most writers, including me, make when it comes to our own writing. I agree with most of what he advises, with the exception of one statement he made in Chapter One. An interviewer asked him what it was like to be a writer, and he said “…writing wasn’t easy and it wasn’t fun. It was hard and lonely, and the words seldom just flowed.” It’s understandable that writing as a profession may be “hard and lonely”, however in my opinion writing itself is not. I consider writing most times to be a fun and easy way to channel my thoughts and opinions about anything I feel like debating, explaining, etc. However, I do like what he has to say about the ways we can improve our writing, and I myself intend to apply his advice to my own work.