On Writing Well

On Writing Well by William Zinsser is a classic guide for non-fiction authors. However, it caters to a broader audience, including professionals who need to write for communication purposes, such as crafting reports and emails.

Writing for Ourselves and in the First Person

According to William Zinsser, authors should write for themselves. Targeting a specific audience is considered a mistake, as there is no uniform audience, and trends are unpredictable due to our constant quest for novelty. Writing for ourselves is the best bet. Nevertheless, our responsibility to the reader is to produce a well-crafted work while maintaining authenticity.

Writing is a personal transaction between the author and the reader. What we “sell” is not a subject but ourselves, our passion for the subject, and how it defines us in return. An author’s primary qualities lie in their humanity and warmth. We should write in the first person whenever possible. Even when “I” is not allowed, we should write while thinking in the first person.

Initially, I thought this writing philosophy does not apply to writing in marketing. In this management discipline, we learn to target a specific audience, define a persona, and seek to evoke a particular emotion or action in the target audience. However, I believe that what defines a strong brand is precisely this unique connection between the audience and the brand. This connection cannot be created by artificially trying to reach an audience but only by consistently communicating what defines the brand, the values it carries. It’s not the brand going to an audience; it’s a particular audience recognizing itself in the brand. Brands like Apple or Nike manage to create such a connection because they express themselves authentically and do not seek to please at any cost.

Rewriting and Reading Aloud

Returning to writing: for William Zinsser, the essence of writing is rewriting. A good result is not achieved on the first try. Writing is a challenging act. Rewriting what we have written several times is not the exception but the rule to achieve a good result.

Good writing is simple, clear, and lucid. To write clearly, we must first be able to think clearly. (And conversely, writing is a very good practice to achieve clarity of thoughts.) We must ask ourselves: what do we want to say? Have we said it well? Reading our own text aloud makes it easier to hear its qualities and flaws. Among the flaws to avoid are a pompous or pretentious tone and clichés, which are the enemy of good taste.

Show, Don’t Tell

I particularly appreciate the writing philosophy contained in this book. Writing is a personal act and creates a connection between the author and the reader. William Zinsser also gives a lot of practical advice aimed at engaging the reader paragraph by paragraph, clarifying content, eliminating unnecessary words, using active forms rather than passive ones, etc.

I find William Zinsser’s advice very close to another writing technique that I appreciate—expressed as Show, don’t tell. This technique is attributed to the Russian author Anton Chekhov, reputed to have said: Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.

This technique is also very useful in the professional world. Don’t just tell me the position you held; show me the results you achieved. Don’t tell me the qualities of the product; show me the benefits I could derive from it.

Writing well is a skill today underestimated. Yet, it is an essential skill not only for effective communication but also for clear thinking.