Clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can't exist without the other.

Writers must constantly ask: what I am trying to say? Surprisingly often, they don't know.

Believe in your own identity and your own opinions. Proceed with confidence, generating it, if necessary, by pure willpower. Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it. Use its energy to keep yourself going.

Examine every word you put on paper. You'll find a surprising number that don't serve any purpose.

Clutter is the disease of American writing. We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills, and meaningless jargon.

Finding a voice that your readers will enjoy is largely a matter of taste. Saying that isn't much help-taste is a quality so intangible that it can't even be defined. But we know it when we meet it.

Four basic premises of writing: clarity, brevity, simplicity, and humanity.