Alex reviewed On Writing Well by William Zinsser
On Writing Well has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity and the warmth …
"We’re all working with the same words and the same principles. Where, then, is the edge?"
4 stars
The quote in the title sums up mostly what I was thinking myself, while looking to improve my own technical writing.
I think the author gives an air of confidence in his writing, earned from plain work and practice, and he sure knows how to use the tricks he's teaching about in this book. I really enjoyed reading it and found lots of new things to try. But like others have already mentioned, the author has a tendency to drop into old stories and anecdotes, the way we older fellows enjoy doing sometimes (hah!).
I think the best way to summarise this book has already been done by the author himself (naturally), using this quote near the end:
"Writing well means believing in your writing and believing in yourself, taking risks, daring to be different, pushing yourself to excel. You will write only as well as you make yourself write."
