On Writing Well
I've set a goal for myself in the past few months to write more and to enjoy it. At the outset, I've realized that my writing skill wasn't at the level I wished it to be. So, I picked up the book "On Writing Well" by Williams Zinsser aimed at addressing this gap.
Writing well to think clearly
The first few chapters summarize well, why I want to write: Writing improves my ability to think and communicate clearly.
I do not know what newer electronic marvels are waiting around the corner, that will make writing twice as easy and twice as fast, in the next 25 years. But I do know they won't make writing twice as good. That will require plain old hard work, clear thinking, and the plain old tools of the English language.
In this quote, he is remarking on how word processors and auto-grammar tools have made writing easy and fast. But the real writing comes from hard work and clear thinking. As a side note this quote summarizes what I also think about AI use in writing and coding, a helpful tool but not a replacement for human ingenuity. This is a good topic for another post. This comment is a small part of what I've enjoyed about Zinsser's writing. His personality and wit shines through.
This personality, he describes as the personal transaction that brings out the author's love for the subject, even if the subject is not something I'm interested in. He says:
This is the personal transaction that is at the heart of good non-fiction writing. Out of it comes two of the most important qualities that this book will go in search for: humanity and warmth. It's what keeps the reader reading from one paragraph to the next. And it's not a question of gimmick to "personalize" the author. It's a question of using the English language in a a way to achieve the greatest clarity and strength.
Zinsser says that humanity and warmth come out of clear and strong use of the English language. I agree and his passion for the subject convinces me to absorb his wisdom.
Some advices on writing
Zinsser describes many helpful points. Here are a few that stood out to me:
Write simply, before developing style. It's tempting to write with big words and fancy prose, but that's not the core of good writing. I should write to keep the reader reading. Zinsser advises that simple and clear writing comes first before developing style. This idea has been changing the way I think and speak, in a helpful way.
Revise a lot. I've really had to learn to enjoy revising. In the past, I did not like reading what I wrote. I knew my writing was bad, but I didn't have the tools to fix it. Zinsser's recommendation to revise at least 3-4 times gives me assurance—I don't need to write perfectly the first time. And he provides tools to help with the revision process, such as point 1 and the next couple below.
Use fewer adverbs. Zinsser comments that adverbs do not need to be used so frequently. Most of the time, the verb should be descriptive enough. In this example: "The fox quickly raced to the hen", quickly is redundant. Raced already implies that the fox is moving quickly. This seems like an easy point, but I know I overuse adverbs. Often, I can use them as a crutch to fill out my sentences.
Use active voice. This recommendation is a good one, especially in scientific writing. I've found that I get lost in writing when writers describe the "generalized linear model" as the subject rather than the "researcher". I've noticed that there is confidence and clarity in my writing when I use "I", "we", "the person" as the subject.
(3) and (4) are general guidelines rather than hard rules. Zinsser himself describes them as such. These tidbits are a small part of the value of this book. And I've not touched on structural and organizational advices I've been learning.
So, while I am still working through this book, I have enjoyed how my capacity to think and communicate has improved. This book and a new love for writing has been formative. I look forward to developing my writing and, out of it, my ability to think clearly.