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.
In the performance of our responsibilities, I have learned that when we heed a silent prompting and act upon it without delay, our Heavenly Father will guide our footsteps and bless our lives and the lives of others. I know of no experience more sweet or feelings more precious than to heed a prompting, only to discover that the Lord has answered another's prayer through you.
I think time management as a label encourages people to view each 24-hour period as a slot in which they should pack as much as possible.
What is indispensable to inspiration? ...sound sleep and the provocation of a good book or a companion.
Do not trust all men, but trust men of worth; the former course is silly, the latter a mark of prudence.
Their vain presumption of knowing all can take beginning solely from their never having known anything; for if one has but once experienced the perfect knowledge of one thing, and truly tasted what it is to know, he shall perceive that of infinite other conclusions he understands not so much as one.
The wiser a man is, the less talkative will he be.
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