Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it's because it is hard. It's one of the hardest things that people do

If the nails are weak, your house will collapse. If your verbs are weak and your syntax is rickety, your sentences will fall apart.

Rewriting is the essence of writing well: it's where the game is won or lost. The idea is hard to accept. We all have emotional equity in our first draft; we can't believe that it wasn't born perfect. But the odds are close to 100 percent that it wasn't.

Eloquence invites us to bring some part of ourselves to the transaction.

All writers should strive to deliver something fresh-something editors or readers won't know they want until they see it.

Today the outlandish becomes routine overnight. The humorist is trying to say that it's still outlandish.

When you're ready to stop, stop. If you have presented all the facts and made the point you want to make, look for the nearest exit.