Hatrack River Writers Workshop: On Writing Well

This is topic On Writing Well in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by Creativity Rising (Member # 2666) on :

I’m going through my second read of On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by Zinsser, William Knowlton.

In 300 pages Zinsser covers a lot of territory. Which he better, since his aim is to rid the English language of clutter. A complete genocide of unnecessary adverbs, meaningless diction and redundacies.

For example he points out how overused is the adverb “personal.” “My personal thoughts…” for example is in clear violation of clutter. They’re my thoughts therefore they are personal. Same goes for “your personal physician.” What’s wrong with simply “your doctor?” “My personal opinion…” is another he knocks down. It’s your opinion after all, he’s assumes it’s personal…

And for the writer of non-fiction Zinsser frankly states that you have to state your opinion. But what’s your opinion worth? According to Zinsser: plenty. No one has an opinion just like yours. Don't try to camouflage it with the notorious “…one would prefer that Dr. Hiddelman’s views on evolution were a little more down to Earth…” Zinseer says he hopes he never gets to me thus “one” fellow.

Writing is an act of ego, he says, and you’ll progress faster once you admit it. When I read that it felt like a shackle (ironically created by my ego) was suddenly loosened.

A great book which the New York Times says “belongs on any shelf of serious reference works for writers." Its focus is non-fiction, but I would say the novelist to the poet would find most of its content invaluable.

In creativity rising,

John

Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :

My personal feelings, thoughts, and actions are often very different from my impersonal ones. It is not an unnecessary usage at all. Some people may overuse it, but it isn't overused at all.

The same thing is true with attributing views, feelings, or opinions to "one" or another. Since I have personal preferences in things, if follows that I have impersonal thoughts on the matter as well. I often mention points in a story that didn't confuse me, but could confuse someone else. Or things that didn't offend me, but could be offensive. And so on.

Still, just because I disagree with some of the points being made, that doesn't mean the book isn't worth anything. It just means that I disagree with those points.

Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :

I'm typing this on my personal PERSONAL COMPUTER.

Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :

You were supposed to say something like, "And you do so personally

Darn it. I spoon fed you that line.

Or you could have taken the point I didn't address...maybe someone else will do it.

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

There are lots of things overused. I, personally, find things likes "spaceport" and "starship" somewhat irritating. Personally, I think a true widespread interstellar culture, when using spaceports and starships, would likely think of them as "ports" and "ships," and possibly say "seaport" or "oceanship" instead.

(The show "NewsRadio" once made use of this to make jokes: when somebody complained about how cold it was in a "space pod," somebody else said he'd buy a "space heater.")

Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :

I don't know...there's a big difference to me between a port and an airport.

Posted by J (Member # 2197) on :

Zinnser sounds like my kind of guy. I'm going to have to find a copy of his book.

Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :

Personally, I get annoyed by people telling me what words to use and not use.

I always go back to a college English professor whose grades were entirely based on whether or not I included the words "it" and "that" in the paper. Those were, in his opinion, the overused words.

Words are overused when I overuse them. If I start saying "personal" or "personally" every other paragraph then yes, I'm overusing it. If everything is "it" to the point that it is difficult to figure out what "it" is referring to, then I'm overusing it. If nearly every verb is modified with an adverb, and most of those adverbs don't change much or matter much, then I'm overusing them.

Until this happens, I'm going to let my own voice control the words on the page.