Reflecting on "On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction," By William Zinnser.

Just like Natalie Goldberg's "Writing Down the Bones," and Steve Kowit's "In the Palm of Your Hand: The Poet's Portable Workshop", two other important books base on learning to write better, Zinnser show us every important aspect of nonfiction writing to the bone. In his introduction, I like how William Zinnser describes how writing is more then a highly academic standard towards educators, and wants us to realize that writing is just communicating to others. Zinnser says that e-mails help eliminate the idea of the fear of writing. As a student myself, I worry about my writing considering that I have a hard time structuring my sentences. I'm horrible at grammar, but that doesn't stop me from writing. Between writing a paper for school and writing a blog, I feel more comfortable when I'm writing down something personal. Zinnser tells us that nothing has changed in writing, just how it’s used. He brings us into view when he tells us that he not the same person that he was 25 years ago, in which he says that basically we change. The idea that we learn to use new ideas to old ones to make our selves better, is what William Gibson talks about in his article, "God's little toys." What I think is really important, this that Zinsser says that good writing is based on craft no matter what types of technology makes writing easier.

Zinnser lays down the principles towards his writing, the first The Transaction. I like how he talks about a situation that he faced while talking to a class with another speaker who had different thoughts about writing. Zinnser says something really important that made me feel questioned, "I said that writing is a craft, not an art, and that the man who runs away from his craft because he lacks inspiration is fooling himself." Before that paragraph while talking to Dr. Brock, Dr. Brock, the surgeon says that writings easy, in which Zinnser opposed and said that writing wasn't easy and wasn't fun. This all had to do with having good writing days versus having bad writing days, but what can't writing be an art? I guess if you don't know what your writing about, then maybe you haven't picked up the craft.

I questioned about how writing is not an art, considering that many poems I write I considered as piece of writing art. I believe the thought behind The Transaction, is to start to get involved in writing by first understanding that you are and how you see things and do things in life. I forgot to note that Zinnser says at the end of Transaction, is that its important as a writer to remember that we have to know who we are. Zinnser points out that we as learners and writers should know our self, and what drives us to want to move learn. "Ultimately the product that any writer has to sell is not the subject being written about, but who he or she is. I often find my self reading with interest about a topic I never thought would interest me..." (Zinnser, 5). Zinsser talks about a transaction with him self in which he finds that warmth and humanity is the key element to understand good writing. I myself, find that I'm finding inspiration just by reading and writing. Too bad though, it doesn't seem to work for me when it comes to learning about comprehending another language like Spanish that have to take to graduate college. But, I guess, it all has to do with being motivated.

With the idea of Simplicity, Zinnser wants us as writers to start off with simple ideas, simple sentences, words, adverbs, and verbs. In Zinsser's first sentence, he tells us that "Clutter is the disease of American writing." (Zinnser, 6) He believes the best way to express an idea is to clearly make it simple, straight forward with no side roads, or hidden meanings. "How can the rest of us achieve such enviable freedom from clutter?" (Zinnser, 6). With Nonfiction writing, Zinnser is telling us there is no need for hidden massages and meaning if we're talking about real life. A lot of people tell me when I'm writing a paper or showing them a poem I wrote, that I should use simple words. My dad tells me that I should not convey words that might seem too confusing to other people. He thinks that its best to tell people what I mean, then trying to say something that might mean something else to someone else. Zinnser's notion on that is that he believes that clear thinking becomes clear writing. Zinnser's idea in which the reader might get lost in a reading, because he believes that the writer was not careful enough conveying his thoughts toward his sentence structure. Based on the ideas of readers reading a topic for the first time, Zinnser points on to us that the writer should understand that the reader (most of the time) is not an expert.

With the idea of Clutter, Zinnser points out, "Fighting clutter is like fighting weeds-the writer is always slightly behind." (Zinnser, 13). Zinsser tells us that we have to examine every word that we put on the page, and try to find those that don't serve any purpose. I believe Zinnser's right, in which I find my papers filled with clutter words I don't need. I have a hard time trying to say something simple, without talking about everything that around it, or that has to do with something else. I'm not always thinking about what I'm writing about while writing a paper. Sometimes, I tend to find my self-worrying about getting information down, without adding my personal thoughts on the subject matter. While writing my first paper in English 200, for the 2005 fall semester, I found that I had to go back and take out ideas that I didn't need and focus on talking about my reactions towards sources. I had gathered a lot of factual information on Identity theft in Cyberspace and put it in my paper, but what I didn't do well was imply the ideas and thoughts of Benjamin Woolley and Sherry Turkle. I believe I didn't bring in my thoughts about what they had to say clearly and effectively. Now with other reading we had in the class, I can add the voice of John Perry Barlow more effectively just by understanding what Zinnser says about understanding writing.

By understanding how we interpret ideas, Zinnser talks about Style. His idea of how we tend to have our own style in writing is based on the idea of how we learned to write. How we learn to write Zinnser says, is based on early school grammar and listening. Zinnser has the rational idea of how we write is based on weight of authority. Zinnser gives us an example of this through the idea of writing a paper for a teacher. Zinnser mustards us by saying that we think about the people who will read our paper, the length, the responsibility of finishing the paper, in which we tend to tighten up. The most important part of style Zinnser tells us is that we should have confidence within our selves and our believes.

With Zinnser's idea on The Audience, he tells us that we have to be our selves when comes to writing. We shouldn't be worried about what other people say, but Zinnser believes that we have to be confidence in which we are. I agree with him 100 percent. I like the idea of how Zinsser talks about other writer's writings, in which he gives us to read. He tells us his reaction, which I thought was touching. "There's a man writing about a subject I have absolutely no interest in. Yet I enjoy this piece thoroughly. I like the smile beauty of its style. I like the rhythms, the unexpected but refreshing words ('deified', 'allure,' 'cackling'); the specific details like the Laced Wyandotte and the brooder house. But mainly what I like is that this is a man telling me unabashedly about a love affair with poultry that goes back to 1907.It's written with humanity and warmth, and after three paragraphs I know quite a lot about what sort of man this hen-lover is." (Zinnser, 28). The idea of personal affection is a strong element of writing in which I fell in love with. The idea that you can make some one understand your needs and desires through simple words can become amazing, strong, and potent. People might not like what you’re talking about, but if you can get them to listen, that to me changes people’s views around.

With Zinnser's idea for Words and Usage, I love how he points out (in a strong way) that we should make habit of writing and writing. "Make a habit of reading what is being written today and what has been written by earlier masters. Writing is learned by imitation. If anyone asked me how I learned to write, I'd say I learned by reading the men and women who were doing the kind of writing I wanted to do and trying to figure out how they did it." (Zinnser, 35). I also like the fact that Zinnser says that, "Sloppy editing is common in newspapers, often for lack of time, and writers who use clichés often work for editors who have seen so many clichés that they no longer even recognize them." (Zinnser, 35).

Unity, one method that Zinnser talks about, is expressed as a problem solving method towards writing. Zinnser says "Unity is the anchor of good writing." (Zinnser, 50) He tells us it keeps the reader satisfied and keeps the reader from getting lost. Zinnser gives us a clear explanation on ways we can keep our writing unified by knowing about the unity of pronoun, tenses, and moods. I like how Zinnser expresses the idea of mood in which he talks about casual voice. He tell us that if we are writing for a magazine like The New Yorker, we have to keep a casual voice while presenting information to the reader. Zinnser hits on the idea of how information can control us, in which we can talk about a topic and just give general information without putting our own thoughts into it.

For example, when I was writing my first paper for ENG 200, on Internet fraud in Cyberspace, all I was thinking about was finding good facts to put on the paper. I didn't think much about what I thought about the information I found, I just put it there on the paper. I also didn't think about what other people would say about fraud in cyberspace. John Perry Barlow was a perfect source of information on talking about crime in cyberspace, in is article "Crime and Puzzlement." He had a conflict of his own dealing with the idea of identity theft in which he got a hold of the person who was trying to steal his identity. He found out the an eighteen year old was up to the crime, and was puzzled to why. Dealing with my own problems dealing with identity theft, I could have used Barlow as a help source towards talking about how easy it can be to get a hold of someone's personal identity through cyberspace. My teacher talked to me about my first paper and said that it sounds like a report not a research paper. I had a lot of good information, but I didn't really talk about my reactions towards the ideas of what other people said or thought, and I didn't back up my statements on what I believe. I just used information (facts), to say why something’s bad, or something has to be done about something. I definitely could have used John Perry Barlow to help back me up, instead of me controlling my material, I let the material control me.

My professor told me, I have to put my own voice in the paper, I have to tell the reader who I am and what I want to address. I like how Zinnser points out to the idea of all writers, towards addressing the reader on a final last word. He tells us, "Most nonfiction writers have a definitiveness complex. They feel that they are under some obligation-to the subject, to their honor, to the gods of writing-to make their article the last word. It's a commendable impulse, but there is no last word."(Zinnser, 52). My papers seem to be all over the place before I ever start really shaping the up. I believe that I will have to follow Zinnser closer on what he says about writing. "Therefore think small. Decide what corner of your subject you're going to bit off, and be content to cover it well and stop." (Zinnser, 52) Also on page 52, Zinnser tells us about writing that there is not specific plan to go by, all we have to go by is our instincts, and the it's just a matter of making repairs. Zinnser tells us that the most important paragraph is usually the leading and the ending paragraphs. The leading paragraph must provide hard details to get the reader connected to what the writer is talking about, and every other paragraph should strengthen the one that preceded it. Just by reading what Zinnser has to say about the aspects of writing, tells me, if I listen to what he says, maybe I'll become a better writer. I think we all want to become better writers, and Zinnser gives us fine example of what he's what to show us, by letting us look at other passages from other writers on how they express certain aspects of writing.

Not a lot of people might know this, but the ending of a article is the most important aspect of writing a paper. Zinnser points this out on page 64. I like Zinnser notion of writing, in which he says, "For the nonfiction writer, the simplest way of putting this into a rule is: when you're ready to stop, stop." (Zinnser, 66). He tells us, "The positive reason for ending well is that a good last sentence-or last paragraph-is a joy in itself. It gives the reader a lift, and it lingers when the article is over. (Zinnser, 65). I found in my writing, it's hard for me to find an ending, because most of the time, I can't seem to focus my ideas towards one part of my subject. For example, when I was writing about Identity theft in cyberspace, I wanted to write about my experience with being a victim. I wanted to help other understand what to look out for based on giving people their personal information. I wanted to point out the different types of frauds that were out there in cyberspace. I saw in my paper that I was jumping in and out of different aspects of cyberspace, based on what I want to talk about. I think, over all, I was not confident in my writing and didn't know when to add something, or leave something out. At other times, it seem that I started to lose focus on what I'm specifically talking about in which I found myself getting lost in my own paper. I had a lot of good information, but it seem that it wasn't leading me to any where specific. I wasn't asking or bring up important questions dealing with attributing the ideas of such writers as Benjamin Woolley, Sherry Turkle, John Perry Barlow, and Dennis Baron, on what they had to say about the issues dealing with cyberspace.

By learning the Bits and Pieces of writing, Zinnser shows us what important in a piece of writing. I found out that adverbs are unnecessary most of the time while writing. Zinnser testifies that, "Again and again in careless writing, strong verbs are weakened by redundant adverbs." (Zinnser, 69) I learned that adjectives are also unnecessary, in which they can also weaken the adjective of a noun or pronoun. Zinnser is simply saying, if your going to describe some one or something, be direct. He doesn't want us to use "a bit," "a little," "sort of," "kind of," "rather," "quite," "very," "too," "pretty much," and "in a sense," while describing how we feel. By knowing that contractions can help a piece is important too in a piece of writing. Knowing how to use (that) and (which) in a sentence is important, in 'which' pertains to a question, and 'that' referring to an object or subject. With the rest of Bites & Pieces, Zinnser tells us the most important aspects of your writing as a writer. I agree with him, in which they sound redundant. Zinnser tells us that writing should be lean and confident, in control. Zinnser at the end "On Writing We," wants us to know what punctuations, semicolons, dashes, colon are and how to use them. We can learn a lot by knowing how to alert our readers as change our mood from the previous sentence. I'm still look over William Zinnser article "On Writing Well," and I believe we can learn a lot by using his book on learning how to write well. For those who have the need to become better writers, this is a very important book to have!

Source/Reading: Zinnser, William. "On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction." New York. HarperCollins. 2001.