In the last 24 months, I’ve written over 500,000 words. On many days, I sat in front of a blank screen, either not knowing what to write or paralyzed by perfectionism. And yet, on all days, I wrote regardless. I used to save all my rejection slips because I told myself, one day I’m going to autograph these and auction them. And then I lost the box.” — James Lee Burke You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” — Madeleine L'Engle

Every word that serves no function, every long word that could be a short word, every adverb that carries the same meaning that’s already in the verb, every passive construction that leaves the reader unsure of who is doing what—these are the thousand and one adulterants that weaken the strength of a sentence.” 3. Simplicity is hard. Only kings, presidents, editors, and people with tapeworms have the right to use the editorial 'we'.” — Mark TwainYou write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what's burning inside you, and we edit to let the fire show through the smoke.” — Arthur Plotnik

Also, make sure to end each paragraph with something interesting to make the reader want to continue. Think of it like the end of an episode of your favorite TV show. When my wife and I were watching Lost , it was hard to stop at just one episode because they always hooked us in at the end! Do the same in your writing. Examine every word that you put on paper. You’ll find a surprising number that doesn’t serve any purpose.William Zinsser has been a mentor for countless people who want to write with clarity and confidence. His eighteen books include the classic On Writing Well, which has sold almost 1.5 million copies. He now teaches at the New School and at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. She told us the reason for this is that most people retain information best when reading at a fifth-grade reading level, and magazines like these are far above that. What attitude am I going to take toward the material?” (Involved? Detached? Judgmental? Ironic? Amused?) Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.―Stephen King Simplicity Was I bitter? Absolutely. Hurt? You bet your sweet ass I was hurt. Who doesn’t feel a part of their heart break at rejection. You ask yourself every question you can think of, what, why, how come, and then your sadness turns to anger. That’s my favorite part. It drives me, feeds me, and makes one hell of a story.” — Jennifer Salaiz

Don’t worry about whether the reader will “get it” if you indulge a sudden impulse for humor. If it amuses you in the act of writing, put it in. Part 2. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don’t mean utterly, but kill most of them – then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. Editors and readers don’t know what they want to read until they read it. Besides, they’re always looking for something new.” 7. Dictionaries and thesauruses are your friends. Any time you can tell a story in the form of a quest or a pilgrimage you’ll be ahead of the game. Readers bearing their own associations will do some of your work for you.Zinssler's absolutely right that writing is hard. But his book isn't discouraging—rather, it inspires me to keep practicing. There's always room to grow as a writer, and I love that On Writing Well outlines major ways we can all grow. American author William Zinsser’s On Writing Well (1976), is a popular writing manual for high school and college students. Zinsser, who died in 2015, was a longtime features writer for the New York Herald Tribune and other popular publications. The range of articles he wrote during his life provided him with the expertise to offer advice on a range of nonfiction forms in his classic, On Writing Well. Zinsser also taught writing at Yale and Columbia, and he often references his teaching experience to illustrate certain of his observations on writing. Zinsser's overarching advice for writers in On Writing Well is to be economical in their writing, to be honest with themselves, and to be courteous to their audience by writing pieces that have a lot of thought behind them. Don’t get discouraged if you get this far and you’re thinking that your first draft is rather poor. These writing quotes are reminders that it’s just part of the process. As for ‘Write what you know,’ I was regularly told this as a beginner. I think it’s a very good rule and have always obeyed it. I write about imaginary countries, alien societies on other planets, dragons, wizards, the Napa Valley in 22002. I know these things. I know them better than anybody else possibly could, so it’s my duty to testify about them.” — Ursula K. Le Guin