"The reader is someone with an attention span of about 30 seconds— a person assailed by many forces competing for attention. At one time those forces were relatively few: newspapers, magazines, radio, spouse, children, pets. Today they also include a galaxy of electronic devices for receiving entertainment and information— television, VCRs, DVDs, C... See more

"Clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can’t exist without the other."

"Surprisingly often a difficult problem in a sentence can be solved by simply getting rid of it."

"The perfect ending should take your readers slightly by surprise and yet seem exactly right."

"I only suggest avoiding one form—“ I’d,” “he’d,” “we’d,” etc.— because “I’d” can mean both “I had” and “I would,” and readers can get well into a sentence before learning which meaning it is. Often it’s not the one they thought it was. Also, don’t invent contractions like “could’ve.” They cheapen your style. Stick with the ones you can find in the... See more

"Writers must therefore constantly ask: what am I trying to say? Surprisingly often they don’t know. Then they must look at what they have written and ask: have I said it?"

"The difference between an activeverb style and a passive-verb style— in clarity and vigor— is the difference between life and death for a writer. “Joe saw him” is strong. “He was seen by Joe” is weak. The first is short and precise; it leaves no doubt about who did what."

"You won’t write well until you understand that writing is an evolving process, not a finished product. Nobody expects you to get it right the first time, or even the second time."

"I then said that rewriting is the essence of writing. I pointed out that professional writers rewrite their sentences over and over and then rewrite what they have rewritten."