Martha recalls that as an English major, she nearly memorized William Zinsser’s On Writing Well. He died this month at age 92, and she’ll remember this quote, among others: “Ultimately, the product any writer has to sell is not the subject being written about, but who he or she is… I often find myself reading with interest about a topic I never thought would interest me — some scientific quest, perhaps. What holds me is the enthusiasm of the writer for his field.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “William Zinsser Quote on Writing”
As an English major in college, I pretty much memorized or felt like I memorized the book On Writing Well by William Zinser. Do you remember that one? It was a fantastic book.
He died recently, and I’m reminded of a quote from him that I really like. He said, and that is just so true, right? I like that.
I mean, I’ll read about potatoes if somebody’s writing about them with passion.
So fare thee well, William Zinser.
Yes.
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