On Writing Well by William Zinsser

PART 1 Gist

Writing well about places is much harder than what most people thought. Writers tend to write everything they did on their trip, which could hardly arouse the readers' interest. Worse still, they are tempted to use syrupy words and groaning platitudes when describing places. Zinsser's advice comes down to two principles -- one of style, the other of substance. First, writers should avoid clichés and strive for fresh words and images. Second, they should strain to draw the best out of their visiting places by distilling the important qualities from the immaterial ones. Or they could do in reverse and let the place draw the best out of them.

PART 2 Expressions

1. Nowhere else in nonfiction do writers use such syrupy words and groaning platitudes.

syrupy: [ˈsɪrəpi] 1. 糖浆似的；2. too nice or kind in a way that seems insincere, used to show disapproval

a syrupy speech

She admired everything she saw in a tone of syrupy earnestness.

syrup: (n.) 糖浆

platitude: （n.）陈词滥调

His excuse was the platitude "boys will be boys".

2. Adjectives you would squirm to use in conversation are common currency.

squirm: 1. 蠕动 SYN wriggle; 2. embarrassed or ashamed

The boy tried to squirm free.

He made me squirm with embarrassment. 

currency: the state of being accepted or used by a lot of people

The argument has received wide currency.

The idea was common currency in European political life.

3. Ruins beckon and the very chimneytops sing their immemorial song of welcome.

beckon: 1.（用手或头）示意或召唤 

She beckoned to the waitress to the waitress to bring more wine.

He beckoned us over and introduced us to his wife.

2. if sth such as a place or opportunity beckon, it appears so attractive that you want to have it

A career in the film industry beckoned.

4. One one's romantic sunrise is another man's hangover.

hangover: 1.宿醉；

I had a terrible hangover the other day.

2. sth from the past that still exists or happens but is no longer necessary or useful 遗留的感觉或事物；后遗症

This feeling was a hangover from her schooldays.

an institution which is a hangover from Victorian times

5. It's about a lurid crime that occurred in the San Bernardino Valley of California.

lurid：[ˈlʊərɪd]/[ˈlʊrɪd] 1. too brightly colored 色彩过于鲜艳的；2. 可怕的 a description, story etc that is lurid is deliberately shocking and involving sex or violence

He told me in lurid detail what would happen to me.

a lurid orange dress

6. McPhee distills its essence in a paragraph that is adroit both in detail and in metaphor.

adroit: [əˈdrɔɪt] SYN skilled，clever and skillful, especially in the way you use words and arguments

an adroit negotiator

She is a remarkably adroit and determined politician.

adroitly (ad.);  adroitness (n.)

7. They're peering right into your mind, wondering what you're thinking, making you feel guilty.

peer: (v.) to look very carefully at sth, especially because you are having difficulty seeing it 凝视；盯着看

He was peering though the wet windscreen at the cars ahead.

Philippa peered into the darkness.

8. I didn't need to wax emotional or patriotic. Beware of waxing.

wax: “打蜡”、“（月亮）渐盈”

wax sentimental/ eloquent/ lyrical etc (about sth): to talk with extreme feeling, liking, or pleasure about sth, used humorously

Journalists wax lyrical about the band.

wax and wane: to increase and decrease over time

Interest in the show has waxed and waned.

PART 3 Thoughts

But that is ground already covered by multitudes of people. As a writer you must keep a tight rein on your subjective self -- the traveler touched by new sights and sounds and smells -- and keep an objective eye on the reader. The article that records your trip. Will it fascinate the reader? It won't.

韩版《花样姐姐》刚播出的时候，我一下子就入迷了。我不太喜欢看旅游节目，但这个节目却很吸引我，它虽然是以土耳其旅行为背景，去的地方也大多是一些有名的广场、海岸、城墙等，但它有很多不同于一般旅游节目的细节。刚经历一场大病即将进入花甲之年的奶奶、十多年一直围着孩子和丈夫转几乎从未远行的中年女演员，对世界充满好奇感、浑身散发活力的年轻男艺人等等，这些人之间的故事远比风景本身更加生动和有趣。他们在旅行途中遇到许多意外的人和店，也发生了很多意外的惊喜。这些新颖的细节才是真正吸引和打动观众的地方。后来中国版的两季《花样姐姐》虽然在节目安排更加紧凑，去了更多的旅行地甚至到了南极，然而却让我有一种索然无味之感。一方面节目在嘉宾的选择甚至故事安排上都与韩版非常相似，缺少新意。另一方面，节目安排太紧凑了每一两集就换一个城市或国家，更多像是走马观花一样体验当地有名的名胜、美食或艺术，让人有审美疲之感。