If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." — Toni Morrison Rejection slips, or form letters, however tactfully phrased, are lacerations of the soul, if not quite inventions of the devil — but there is no way around them.” — Isaac Asimov Always use “that” unless it makes your meaning ambiguous. If your sentence needs a comma to achieve its precise meaning, it probably needs “which”

On Writing Well by William Zinsser is an excellent book for anybody who wants to learn how to write, whether about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, or about yourself. Everywhere I go, I’m asked if the universities stifle writers. My opinion is that they don’t stifle enough of them.” — Flannery O’Connor In the last 24 months, I’ve written over 500,000 words. On many days, I sat in front of a blank screen, either not knowing what to write or paralyzed by perfectionism. And yet, on all days, I wrote regardless.The product that any writer has to sell is not the subject being written about, but who he or she is. With science writing, Zinsser shows that the most complicated scientific subjects can be explained elegantly, especially when one avoids jargon. What is good usage? One helpful approach is to try to separate usage from jargon. For example: “ prioritize” is jargon—a pompous new verb that sounds more important than “ rank”—and that “ bottom line” is usage, a metaphor borrowed from the world of bookkeeping that conveys an image we can picture. Surprise is the most refreshing element in nonfiction writing. If something surprises you it will also surprise—and delight—the people you are writing for, especially as you conclude your story and send them on their way. Bits & Pieces Writing improves in direct ratio to the number of things we can keep out of it that shouldn’t be there.

Now it often happens that you’ll make these prior decisions and then discover that they weren’t the right ones. Don’t fight such a current if it feels right. Adjust your style accordingly and proceed to whatever destination you reach. The Lead and the EndingLike travel writing, sports writing is full of tired clichés. The best sportswriters know how to cut them out and tell compelling stories that connect sports to universal human experiences. Art and entertainment writers get the luxury of presenting their opinions to the public, but they also have an important responsibility to help readers understand the context and history of certain art forms. Finally, humor is writers’ “secret weapon,” because it lets them say things that they wouldn’t be able to publish otherwise. Whether humorists are making serious political arguments or just entertaining, Zinsser argues, they have a responsibility to speak the truth. The secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. Every word that serves no function, every long word that could be a short word, every adverb that carries the same meaning that’s already in the verb, every passive construction that leaves the reader unsure of who is doing what — these are the common adulterants that weaken the strength of a sentence. Examine every word that you put on paper. You’ll find a surprising number that doesn’t serve any purpose. It doesn’t matter how many book ideas you have if you can’t finish writing your book.” — Joe Bunting

The number one piece of advice that most authors have for other authors is to read, read, read. Here’s why. No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” —Robert Frost A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it.” — Roald Dahl

Next the lead must do some real work. It must provide hard details that tell the reader why the piece was written and why he ought to read it. But don’t dwell on the reason. Coax the reader a little more; keep him inquisitive. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.” — Annie Dillard