People William Zinsser
WZ
William Zinsser
Author, writing teacher
Legendary writing teacher whose "On Writing Well" has guided millions of writers
Why I Follow
"On Writing Well" is the definitive guide to clear nonfiction writing. Zinsser's principles apply to everything from docs to emails to blog posts.
Key Ideas
- Clutter is the enemy - Strip every sentence to its cleanest components
- Simplify - Short words, short sentences, clear thinking
- Rewriting is writing - First drafts are supposed to be bad
- Write for yourself - If you're not interested, no one will be
When I Reference
- Editing documentation
- Trimming bloated prose
- Technical writing clarity
- Any nonfiction writing