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“ ”The adjective that exists solely as decoration is a self-indulgence for the writer and a burden for the reader.
About William Zinsser
William Knowlton Zinsser (born October 7, 1922 – May 12, 2015 ) was an American writer, editor, literary critic, and teacher. He began his career as a journalist for the New York Herald Tribune, where he worked as a feature writer, drama editor, film critic, and editorial writer, and has been a longtime contributor to leading magazines.
Biography information from Wikiquote
Additional quotes by William Zinsser
I like Catch-22, Gravity’s Rainbow and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, for instance, because the authors of those three surrealistic novels — Joseph Heller, Thomas Pynchon and Robert Pirsig — invented their own rules, knowing that the old ones wouldn’t do the job they had in mind.
Sell yourself, and your subject will exert its own appeal. Believe in your own identity and your own opinions. Writing is an act of ego, and you might as well admit it. Use its energy to keep yourself going.
The most important sentence in any article is the first one. If it doesn’t induce the reader to proceed to the second sentence, your article is dead.