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Chapter 19
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in On Writing Well, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Human Element
Simplicity vs. Clutter
Process and Organization
The Gift of Writing
Summary
Analysis
Even though Zinsser covers diverse subjects, ranging from jazz to baseball, he always writes in the same style. All writers should do this, because their main commodity is always their own voice.
Developing a distinctive style (or voice) is a writer’s best chance to enrich their work and make a personal connection with the reader. Of course, Zinsser has repeatedly argued that developing a voice isn’t easy: it often takes writers years, and they always have to learn to write clearly first.
Themes
Zinsser loves breezy, effortless writing, but not everyone can do it well. For instance, E.B. White comes across as folksy and informal, but his style actually requires painstaking effort and discipline. When inexperienced writers try to replicate this style, they often come across as insincere, corny, and condescending. Writers should respect their readers, which means that they shouldn’t use the breezy style unless it really fits their voice.
Style has to be authentic and organic: writers have to write in their own voice, and they have to find this voice naturally over the course of their careers. As Zinsser’s example shows, there are no shortcuts to good style. It’s easy to confuse the breezy style with clear writing, but they’re completely different. Clarity is about mechanics, but style is about attitude. All good style is clear, but E.B. White’s informal, direct, breezy style is just one example. Clear writing is anything that says what it means, without too much complication. It's possible to be clear but also formal, scientific, flowery, elaborate, or dramatic—and not breezy.
Themes
Finding a voice as a writer requires taste, or a sense of what fits and what doesn’t. It’s true that taste is subjective, changes over time, and can’t be easily measured. But there are still clear signs of good and bad taste. In particular, bad taste loves clichés, jargon, and imprecise words (like “zillions”). While taste depends on intuition, it’s still possible to learn. The best way to learn good taste is by imitating other writers. In fact, imitation is the best way for writers to improve—it helps them find their own voice and place themselves in a broader history and tradition.
Taste has no clear rules, but Zinsser’s usual priorities—clarity, unity, and precision—are a good place to start. For instance, “zillions” is bad taste because it’s purely ornamental. It attracts attention, but it doesn’t refer to any specific quantity, so it’s more likely to distract the reader than advance the author’s actual point. Readers might be surprised that Zinsser favors imitating other writers, even though he also argues that every writer has to find their own voice, style, and taste. However, he’s not saying that aspiring writers will find success by simply copying what other writers have done. Instead, he thinks that writers can figure out what does and doesn’t work for them by trying on different styles. This imitation is part of a process of experimentation. Eventually, he thinks, writers can find a voice by combining bits and pieces they have learned from other writers and traditions.
Themes
To show how a sense of tradition enriches writing, Zinsser quotes Connecticut Governor Wilbur Cross’s eloquent Thanksgiving Proclamation, which describes his state’s natural beauty and Pilgrim history. (Zinsser’s students didn’t find Cross’s proclamation impressive, but Zinsser blames television, which has made speechcraft less important in politics.) Governor Cross’s writing is flowery, but it’s still eloquent because of Cross’s good taste. Cross uses simple words and avoids clichés. He also knows what not to say. Just like Abraham Lincoln emphasized the evil of slavery by invoking the Bible in his Second Inaugural Address, Cross subtly references the long American struggle for human rights without condescending to the reader. The richest works of literature, like Toni Morrison’s novels, understand where they fit into a broader tradition.
Cross’s style is nothing like breezy E.B. White’s, but it’s still clear, inspiring, and suited to his speech’s subject matter. Zinsser shows that Cross is aware of tradition in two ways. First, his speech fits into a longer tradition of American speechcraft, and second, he references shared Connecticut traditions in order to connect with his constituents. His distinctive voice isn’t purely the product of his individual identity—it also depends on the traditions and communities that he belongs to. Thus, Zinsser returns to his belief in imitation: by trying on others’ voices, styles, and tastes, aspiring writers can learn about the influences that have shaped their own identities and decide which of these influences to accept and reject.
Themes
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