The secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components.

You learn to write by writing.

I try to make what I have written tighter, stronger and more precise, eliminating every element that's not doing useful work. Then I go over it once more, reading it aloud, and am always amazed at how much clutter can still be cut.

Probably every subject is interesting if an avenue into it can be found that has humanity and that an ordinary person can follow.

Scholarship hath no fury like that of a language purist faced with sludge.

You must find some way to elevate your act of writing into an entertainment. Usually this means giving the reader an enjoyable surprise. Any number of devices will do the job.... These seeming amusements in fact become your 'style.' When we say we like the style of certain writers, what we mean is that we like their personality as they express it on paper.

Telling a writer to relax is like telling a man to relax while being prodded for a possible hernia.