Two must-have classics together in one volume, On Writing Well and How to Write a Memoir, from acclaimed writer, editor, and scholar William Zinsser
""On Writing Well is a bible for a generation of writers looking for clues to clean, compelling prose."" –New York Times
On Writing Well, which grew out of a course that William Zinsser taught at Yale, has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity, and for the warmth of its style. It is a book for anybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get through the day, as almost everybody does. Whether you want to write about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts, or about yourself in the increasingly popular memoir genre, On Writing Well offers you both fundamental principles as well as the insights of a distinguished practitioner. With over a million copies in print, this volume has stood the test of time and remains a valued resource for writers and would-be writers.
Whether you're a professional writer or just want to write a personal or family reminisce, Zinsser explains, in warm anecdotal detail in How to Write a Memoir, how a memoir is different from an autobiography; what makes a good memoir and a bad memoir; how to decide what part of your life to write about, and how to be true to your own personality and voice. Throughout he cites examples from the work of successful memoir writers including Annie Dillard, Frank McCourt, and Eudora Welty, demonstrating how they solved problems of compression, focus, and tone, often overcoming early mistakes that took them in the wrong direction.
Identity
Memory
Healing
Journey
Family
Psychological
Audiobook details
GenreOther, General Fiction
Length2 hrs 23 mins
Narrated byWilliam Zinsser
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateNov 2, 2004
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1#1
4#4
2#2
5#5
3#3
6#6
About the author
William Zinsser
William Zinsser is a writer, editor and teacher. He began his career on the New York Herald Tribune and has since written regularly for leading magazines. During the 1970s he was master of Branford College at Yale. His 17 books, ranging from baseball to music to American travel, include the influential Writing to Learn and Writing About Your Life. He teaches at the New School in New York.View all by William Zinsser
