Clutter is the disease of American writing.
Interpretation
Clutter in writing obscures clarity and effectiveness. Good writing is concise and clear.
William Zinsser's quote underscores the importance of clarity in writing by suggesting that excessive clutter—be it unnecessary words, jargon, or convoluted sentence structures—detracts from the effectiveness of communication. Emphasizing simplicity and directness, Zinsser advocates for a writing style that engages the reader and conveys ideas with precision, which is essential for effective writing, especially in American literary traditions.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a writing workshop to emphasize good practices.
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.
I am fascinated by language in daily life: the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth.
Some teachers just have a knack for working with autistic children. Other teachers do not have it.
But in the new (math) approach, the important thing is to understand what you're doing, rather than to get the right answer.
Whenever I start a book, I swear it's going to be a short one. But then it's, 'Who was his grandfather? And how did he get there in the first place? And what kind of animals is he chasing?'
Acquire new knowledge whilst thinking over the old, and you may become a teacher of others.
Then I celebrated my Wall of Books. I counted the volumes on my twenty-foot-long modernist bookshelf to make sure none had been misplaced or used as kindling by my subtenant. “You’re my sacred ones,” I told the books. “No one but me still cares about you. But I’m going to keep you with me forever. And one day I’ll make you important again.” I thought about that terrible calumny of the new generation: that books smell.
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