I. Words & Expressions

I wondered if there was any way to wrest writers away from their infatuation with the completed act of writing.

wrest... away from 

To wrest (攫取权利)is to forcefully grab or take something away. You canwrestaway many things, such as remote controls and championships.

infatuation （obsession）

n. a foolish and usually extravagant passion or love or admiration（尤指一时的）迷恋、痴心

Infatuation is falling in love with or becoming extremely interested in someone or something for a short time.

eg. Tony's infatuation with the actress is evident.

I didn't particularly expect them to find it pertinent to their age group...

pertinent 

adj. having precise or logical relevance to the matter at hand

Something pertinent is relevant and on-point.

eg. The police asked me a lot of pertinent questions.

We can write to affirm and to celebrate, or we can write to debunk and to destroy...

debunk

v. expose while ridiculing; especially of pretentious or false claims and ideas 证明（思想、观念）错误

When you debunk something you show it to be false.

eg. His claims were later debunked by the fellow academics.

II. Summary & Reflection

The fixation on the finished article causes writers a lot of trouble, deflecting them from all the earlier decisions that have to be made to determine its shape and voice and content.

Zinsser指出写作时勿要片面地追求结果，譬如销售量好不好。好的写作往往是前期的构思以及写作中所传达的主题思想。其实，此理放之四海皆准。我们生活、学习以及工作也会无形中陷入唯结果论的死循环中。学校评判教师的教学质量，权重最高的还是分数，这样的导向，也将孩子们进行的了排名比较，一切以结果为参考标准。

在此，Zinsser提出两点：

One is quest, the  other is intention.

The quest is one of the oldest themes in storytelling, an act of faith we never get tired of hearing about.

Intention is what we wish to accomplish with our writing. Call it the writer’s soul. We can write to affirm and to celebrate, or we can write todebunk and to destroy; the choice is ours.

写作，与作者本身的个人性格很大关系，你的作品里无形中会传达着你的思想、态度和情感。所以在写作开始之时，先仔细思考：你想要表达什么?你如何去表达？以及在写作中勿忘人文关怀。

Writing is related to character. If your values are sound, your writing will be sound. It all begins with intention. Figure out what you want to do and how you want to do it, and work your way with humanity and integrity to the completed article. Then you’ll have something to sell.