“Why am I writing this?”

Strive instead to write well and without self-consciousness.

To write is to create music. The words you write make sounds, and when those sounds are in harmony, the writing will work.

do not pour the clay of your thoughts into the hard mold of some personal writing style that you are determined to have.

You cannot write securely on any subject unless you have gathered far more information than you will use.

Use a semicolon to separate word series that contain commas. They bought soda, potato chips, ice cream, and candy; several games and toys; and three books.

Conversations stumble; they stray; they repeat; they are bloated with, you know, like, meaningless words; and they are often cut short by intrusions. But what they have going for them is human contact, the sound of a human voice.

Do not create in your head some witty, erudite, unmistakably exciting persona and try to capture him or her on paper. Also,

write in your head. Clear up the inconsistencies while you’re brushing your teeth. Get your thoughts organized while you’re driving to work. Think of a slant during lunch. And most important, come up with a beginning, a lead, so that you won’t end up staring at your keyboard as if it had just arrived from another galaxy. If you have spent time writ