{"id":1069,"date":"2015-05-16T11:33:57","date_gmt":"2015-05-15T23:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/?p=1069"},"modified":"2015-05-16T11:33:57","modified_gmt":"2015-05-15T23:33:57","slug":"farewell-mr-zinsser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/?p=1069","title":{"rendered":"Farewell, Mr Zinsser"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/?attachment_id=990\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-990\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-990\" src=\"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Zinsser-300x277.jpg\" alt=\"Zinsser\" width=\"300\" height=\"277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Zinsser-300x277.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Zinsser.jpg 340w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>In Chapter One of William Zinsser\u2019s classic guide to writing nonfiction, <em>On Writing Well<\/em>, he tells the story of sitting on a panel of two, answering the questions of a group of students and teachers eager to hear about the glamourous world of writing.<\/p>\n<p>His fellow panellist was a surgeon who had started writing \u2013 with some success \u2013 in his spare time.\u00a0 For each of the questions, Dr Brock, the surgeon-cum-writer, had a sunny answer.\u00a0 Writing was easy.\u00a0 Writing was fun.\u00a0 The words just flowed.\u00a0 There was seldom any need for revision.\u00a0 And if, for some reason, the words didn\u2019t flow, then just go for a walk, go fishing, whatever.\u00a0 Tomorrow would be another day.<\/p>\n<p>In answer to the same questions, Mr Zinsser said that writing was not easy.\u00a0 And it was not fun.\u00a0 It was hard work.\u00a0 He also said that rewriting was the essence of writing; that writing was a craft not an art; and \u2018the man who runs away from his craft because he lacks inspiration is fooling himself.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The point of the anecdote was to illustrate that there is no single \u2018right\u2019 way to write.\u00a0 Over time, each good writer discovers what works for him or her.<\/p>\n<p>He concludes the chapter by saying:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Good writing has an aliveness that keeps the reader reading from one paragraph to the next, and it\u2019s not a question of gimmicks to \u2018personalize\u2019 the author.\u00a0 It\u2019s a question of using the English language in a way that will achieve the greatest clarity and strength.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Can such principles be taught?\u00a0 Maybe not.\u00a0 But most of them can be learned.<\/p>\n<p>I discovered <em>On Writing Well<\/em> in about 1982.\u00a0 Since then, I must have read it \u2013 from cover to cover \u2013 at least twenty times.\u00a0 It\u2019s always a rewarding experience.<\/p>\n<p>William Zinsser died last week at the age of 92.<\/p>\n<p>Farewell, Mr Zinsser.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Chapter One of William Zinsser\u2019s classic guide to writing nonfiction, On Writing Well, he tells the story of sitting on a panel of two, answering the questions of a group of students and teachers eager to hear about the &hellip; 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