How I Learned to Write for Everyone.
On Writing Well is a book that made it easier for me to write non-technical documents. Writing non-technical documents used to be a significant challenge for me, but William Zinsser’s On Writing Well changed my entire approach. By focusing on clarity and simplicity, I discovered how to better connect with my readers.
The book suggests cutting sentences down to the basics and says that rewriting is key to making your writing concise and useful in any kind of non-fiction.
There’s a lot to like in this book, but what stands out is how simple and clear the writing is when solving problems. I mostly write for myself. If I enjoy writing a blog and learn something new, you, as a reader, probably learn it too.
Rather than giving you my own summary, here are some quotes that I think show the value of this book for non-technical writers.
“All writing is ultimately a question of solving a problem.”
“It’s the principle of leading readers who know nothing, step by step, to a grasp of subjects they didn’t think they had an aptitude for or were afraid they were too dumb to understand.”
“Less is more.”
“Clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can't exist without the other.”
“The reader is someone with an attention span of about 30 seconds.”
“Don't annoy your readers by over-explaining--by telling them something they already know or can figure out.”
“Don’t try to visualize the great mass audience. There is no such audience—every reader is a different person.”