On Writing Well by William Zinsser

PART 1 Gist

Writers should enjoy their writings. They shouldn't be bothered that some readers will not be amused by what they find amusing. A good advice on conveying enjoyment is to write about people you respect rather than the one you want to destroy or scandalize.

Nonfiction writers tend to fear about disapproval and failure as a result of inaccuracy of their reporting or misstep of their craft. They could generate confidence that would help them fight off those fears by writing about subjects that interest them and that they care about.

PART 2 Expressions

1. Virgil Thomson and Red Smith wrote with elegance and with a mirthful confidence in their opinions.

mirth: (n.) literary, happiness and laughter

Her body began to shake with mirth.

mirthful: ['mɜ:θfəl] 欢快的；愉快的

I could feel the mirthful atmosphere of the Chinese New Year.

mirthless: mirthless laughter or a mirthless smile does not seem to be caused by real amusement or happiness

"Now it's your turn," he said with a mirthless grin.

2. America's most venerated pundit, ran above the one-panel cartoon by H.T. Webster, creator of "The Timid Soul".

venerate: [ˈvenəreɪt] 崇敬 to honor or respect sb or sth because they are old, holy or connected with the past

They came from afar to revere, venerate and worship the highest of mountains.

venerate sb as sth

There children are venerated as holy beings.

venerable: (a.)  eg. a venerable tradition,  the venerable guitarist Pat Martino

veneration (n.)

3. I liked the insouciance that presented on the same page two features so different in gravity.

insouciance: [ɪnˈsu:siəns] 不在乎；漠不关心 a cheerful feeling of not caring or worrying about anything

an air of insouciance

She was very tense, but she preserved an appearance of insouciance.

insouciant: (a.)

4. Among those blithe souls a city-desk reporter named John O'Reilly, who was admired for his deadpan coverage of human-interest and animal-interest stories, managed to make whimsy a serious beat.

blithe: [blaɪð] 1. seeming not to care or worry about the effects of what you do 轻率的，漫不经心的,不考虑后果的 2. happy and having no worries 无忧无虑的

a blithe disregard for the facts

Suzanne's feelings about food and eating had gone from blithe unconcern to anxiety.

blithely :( ad.)

He was blithely unaware of the trouble he had caused.

deadpan: （a.）sounding and looking completely serious when you are saying or doing sth funny

deadpan voice/ expression/ humor etc

5. Since then I've made that sense of enjoyment my credo as a writer and an editor.

credo: [ˈkri:dəʊ]  信条 a formal statement of the beliefs of a particular person, group, religion etc

American Express is emphasizing its 'the customer is first' credo.

6. Probably the biggest fear for nonfiction writers is the fear of not being able to bring off their assignment.

bring sth off: to succeed in doing sth difficult

They managed to bring off the most daring jewellery robbery in history.

7. There's no party line.

party line: the official opinion of a political party or other organization, which its members are expected to agree with and support

follow/ toe the party line: to support the official opinion

He refused to toe the party line.

8. That lesson was brought home to me  in 1992 when I got a call from an editor at Audubon asking if I would write an article for the magazine.

bring sth home to sb/ come home to sb: to make you realize how serious, difficult, or dangerous sth is

The episode has brought home to me the pointlessness of this war.

hit/ strike home: if a remark, situation, or experience hits home, it makes you realize how serious, difficult, or dangerous sth is

She could see that her remark had hit home.

9. In his mid-80s Peterson was on a schedule that would tax a man of 50.

tax sb: accuse; charge

tax him with neglect of duty

tax sb's patience/ strength etc: to make onerous and rigorous demands on sth

The kids are really taxing my patience today.

It shouldn't tax your brain too much.

10. He was a taciturn man.

taciturn: [ˈtæsɪtɜ:n] 沉默寡言的

He was a reserved, taciturn person when I first knew him.

PART 3 Thoughts

The moral for nonfiction writers is: think broadly about your assignment. Don't assume that an article for Audubon has to be strictly about nature, or an article for Car & Driver strictly about cars. Push the boundaries of your subject and see where it takes you. Bring some part of your own life to it; it's not your version of the story until you write it.

还记得Trevor Noah的记录片里他提到自己做脱口秀的一大原因就是他发现当人们一起坐在听脱口秀的时候，他们会忘记种族的差异，会发现人与人之间有的共同点远大于他们的不同之处。我觉得好的文字也是有这样的魅力的，它能够让激发人们的共鸣，让读者在读文字的时候即使不了解那些专业领域以内的东西也能走近书中的人物和理解书中的故事。上两个月读的Elon Musk的他传，这本传记的作者Ashlee Vance并没有汽车或航空领域的从业经历，想必Elon Musk的生活背景、他所从事的事业对作者来说都是非常遥远和陌生的，所以作者很少花笔墨去写专业技术，而是着重在Elon Musk人生中的几个戏剧性的时刻，他的童年，他的婚姻，他事业上的几次起伏，而这些也正是一般读者所期望读到的故事。 在Ashlee Vance的视角下，Elon Musk变得接地气了许多。他不是不食人间烟火烟火的神人，也不是一帆风顺的天之骄子，他也有彷徨、痛苦甚至奔溃的时候，在他的故事里我读到了很多自己和身边人的影子。之前的某一章里Zinsser提到过写作要保有ego, 而摒弃egotism。一篇文章即使在写他人的故事，也不可避免有作者本人的观点和取舍，而阅读者更是如此，我们阅读他人的故事的目的不只是想去了解他人的人生，而是从他人的故事里汲取自己所需要的东西。