the essence of writing is rewriting.
Just because they’re writing fluently doesn’t mean they’re writing well.
Clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can’t exist without the other.
Writing improves in direct ratio to the number of things we can keep out of it that shouldn’t be there.
“political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible.... Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness.”
First, then, learn to hammer the nails, and if what you build is sturdy and serviceable, take satisfaction in its plain strength.
be yourself when you write.
Never say anything in writing that you wouldn’t comfortably say in conversation.
Writing is learned by imitation. If anyone asked me how I learned to write, I’d say I learned by reading the men and women who were doing the kind of writing I wanted to do and trying to figure out how they did it.
The Elements of Style, a book every writer should read once a year,
“‘Myself’ is the refuge of idiots taught early that ‘me’ is a dirty word.”
unity of pronoun. Are you going to write in the first person, as a participant, or in the third person, as an observer?