On Writing Well: Audio Collection

A classic and a must-read indeed. It covers practically all aspects of planning,punctuation, pit falls.Full of wise counsels for writers.It is very pragmatic and concise.I like to recommend it as the first text and resource book for all writers.

Am still listening to this on audiobook. Excellent reference.

Great book about writing simply, missing the bulk of text included in print version. This is Part 1 + Writing Memoirs from the complete version.

I got the cassette tape back in the 90s and it was very useful in helping to improve my writing. Mr. Zinsser asserts that the world is filled with terrible nonfiction writing. It can easily be found in science research papers, rental car agreements, and law books which are unpleasant to read, hard to remember and frequently not understood. Those writers have no consideration for the reader. For example, from the IRS:- Subsection 9.1.3.6.3 is revised to indicate that the statue of limitation (SOL) starts on the day the return is filed. Criminal Tax Counsel provided the following: In United States v. Habig, 390 U.S. 222, 225 (1968), the Supreme Court stated that, when a return has been filed before the due date, the limitations period begins to run on the due date. The Court further held that, where an extension of time is secured but the return is filed after the original statutory due date, the limitations period starts to run on the date the return was filed. The U.S. Attorneys’ Manual, 9-18.000 (Criminal Resource Manual 658), also states that the SOL begins to run on the date the offense is completed.The information is all there but it is badly presented.Good writing is understood by most if not all readers. No rereading or expertise is required. It is pleasant to read, easy to understand, and memorable. For example Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 from the Bible:- There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—A time to give birth and a time to die;A time to plant and a time to reap.A time to kill and a time to heal;A time to tear down and a time to build up. time to weep and a time to laugh;A time to mourn and a time to dance.A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.A time to search and a time to give up as lost;A time to keep and a time to throw away.A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;A time to be silent and a time to speak.A time to love and a time to hate;A time for war and a time for peace.On Writing Well helps you write less like a government bureaucrat and more like a good teacher. Zinsser teaches you to write with; clarity, simplicity, brevity, and humanity. Humanity means to write like a person explaining something to another and not like some arrogant know it all whose dense prose and jargon words results in the reader tuning out and missing the message.One suggestion is to take what you have written and reduce the length by half. E.g. from 6 pages to 3. You'll discover that you'll still convey 95% of your message while saving time for your reader.I found his instructions very useful and continue to use them to this day.

Quick shipment; terrific book on writing.

Good, but not the same as the 30th anniversary edition.It's missing a lot of the content, and it has a "bonus" section on memoir writing, which was fascinating.The biggest take away I learned from William Zinsser is to "trust the process".Write a new memory/chapter/section every single day for 2-4 months, and then see how you can connect the dots at the end.Your first month will be stiff, and you'll improve over the course of the months. After you've put in the time to write, then figure out what the storyline will be. Don't worry about it until you've put in the time to write daily.

Not the version I was looking for, victim of fine print. Great read as usual but was expecting to get the full version not the ***memoir section only**** version. It has the same cover as the full version but added the "memoir section only** in small fine print. I'm sure everyone else was expecting the same. Smh 4 stars

Best book on writing that I read.