Writing improves in direct ratio to the things we can keep out of it that shouldn't be there.
Interpretation
Writing becomes better when we eliminate unnecessary elements.
This quote emphasizes the importance of clarity and conciseness in writing. William Zinsser suggests that the quality of our writing improves significantly when we learn to discern what information is essential and what can be omitted, leading to more impactful communication.
In practice
A writer might use this quote during a workshop on effective writing techniques.
Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it's because it is hard. It's one of the hardest things that people do
Never hesitate to imitate another writer. Imitation is part of the creative process for anyone learning an art or a craft. Bach and Picasso didn't spring full-blown as Bach or Picasso; they needed models. This is especially true of writing.
Good writing is lean and confident.
My four articles of faith: clarity, simplicity, brevity and humanity.
I have no interest in teaching writers how to sell. I want to teach them how to write. If the process is sound, the product will take care of itself, and sales are likely to follow.
Don't hedge your prose with little timidities. Good writing is lean and confident. . . . Every little qualifier whittles away some fraction of the reader's trust. Readers want a writer who believes in himself and in what he is saying. Don't diminish that belief. Don't be kind of bold. Be bold.
Be careful when you fight the monsters, lest you become one.
Hammer your thoughts into unity.
It's okay to lose; just don't lose the lesson.
If we treasure our own experience and regard it as real, we must also treasure other people's experience.
I wish for you a life of wealth, health and happiness; a life in which you give to yourself the gift of patience, the virtue of reason, the value of knowledge, and the influence of faith in your own ability to dream about and achieve worthy rewards.
Pride and excess bring disaster for man.
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