On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction

The six Mitchell pieces that would eventually constitute his book, The Bottom of the Harbor, a classic of American nonfiction,

Ultimately the product that any writer has to sell is not the subject being written about, but who he or she is. I

I’d like every writer to visualize one reader struggling to read what he or she has written.

So decide what single point you want to leave in the reader’s mind. It will not only give you a better idea of what route you should follow and what destination you hope to reach; it will affect your decision about tone and attitude. Some points are best made by earnestness, some by dry understatement, some by humor.

As soon as the interview is over, fill in all the missing words you can remember. Complete the uncompleted sentences.

Never say anything in writing that you wouldn’t comfortably say in conversation. If you’re not a person who says “indeed” or “moreover,” or who calls someone an individual (“he’s a fine individual”), please don’t write it.

To offer some help and comfort I wrote a book in 2004 called Writing About Your Life.

Writers are obviously at their most natural when they write in the first person. Writing is an intimate transaction between two people, conducted on paper, and it will go well to the extent that it retains its humanity. Therefore I urge people to write in the first person: to use “I” and “me” and “we” and “us.” They put up a fight.

Just because they’re writing fluently doesn’t mean they’re writing well.