Content:
Part I | Principles
1. The Transaction
2. Simplicity
3. Clutter (Writing clean English Sentence)
4. Style (Preserving your identity)
5. The audience (Who am I writing for)
6. Words (The only tools you’ve got)
7. Usage (What is good usage)
Part II | Methods
8. Unity (Anchor of good writing)
9. The lead and the ending
10. Bits and pieces
Part II | Forms
11. Nonfiction as Literature
12. Writing About People: The Interview
13. Writing About Places: The travel article
14. Writing About Yourself: The Memoir
15. Science and Technology
16. Business Writing:Writing in Your Job
17. Sports
18. Writing About the Arts Critics and Columnists
19. Humor
Part III |Attitudes
20. The Sound of Your Voice
21. Enjoyment, Fear and Confidence
....
Words and Expressions:
1. As a boy I never wanted to grow up to be a writer, or—God forbid—an author.
writer vs. author
2. ...the political column of Walter Lippmann, America’s most venerated pundit.
pundit ★☆☆☆☆
N-COUNT 行家；权威；专家
A pundit is a person who knows a lot about a subject and is often asked to give information or opinions about it to the public.
【搭配模式】：oft supp N
...a well known political pundit.
著名的政治专家
3. I liked the insouciance that presented on the same page two features so different in gravity.
gravity最常见的意思是 重力，这里表示 “庄重，严肃”。
gravity★★☆☆☆
1.N-UNCOUNT See also: centre of gravity; 重力；地球引力
Gravity is the force which causes things to drop to the ground.
Arrows would continue to fly forward forever in a straight line were it not forgravity, which brings them down to earth.
要不是重力使箭落向地面，它们将永远以直线往前飞行。
2.N-UNCOUNT （事态的）严重性，重大
The gravity of a situation or event is its extreme importance or seriousness.
【搭配模式】：oft N of n
They deserve punishment which matches thegravityof their crime...
应当根据罪行的严重性来惩治他们。
Not all acts of vengeance are of equal gravity.
并非所有的报复行为都同等恶劣。
3.N-UNCOUNT （言谈举止的）庄重，严肃
The gravity of someone's behaviour or speech is the extremely serious way in which they behave or speak.
There was an appealing gravity to everything she said.
她说的每句话都带着一种庄严，很能吸引人。
4. ...who was admired for his deadpan coverage of human-interest.
ADJ-GRADED (幽默）冷面的；(开玩笑或作弄人时）故意板着脸的，一脸严肃的
Deadpan humour is when you appear to be serious and are hiding the fact that you are joking or teasing someone.
...her natural capacity for irony and deadpan humour...
她天生具有的讥嘲讽刺和冷面幽默才能
She put the letter on the desk in front of me, her face deadpan, not a flicker of a smile.
她把那封信放在我面前的桌子上，故意一脸严肃，没有一丝的笑容。
5. It takes audacity and exuberance and gaiety, and the most important one is audacity.
audacity|ɔːˈdæsəti|
N-UNCOUNT 大胆;放肆
Audacity is audacious behaviour.
I was shocked at theaudacity and brazenness of the gangsters.
这伙歹徒如此胆大妄为、厚颜无耻，让我很是震惊。
exuberance★☆☆☆☆/ɪg'zjʊbərəns/
1.N-UNCOUNT 热情洋溢；兴高采烈;喜气洋洋
Exuberance is behaviour which is energetic, excited, and cheerful.
Her burst of exuberance and her brightness overwhelmed me.
她勃发的热情和阳光的性格征服了我。
2.N-UNCOUNT 勃勃生机
If you talk about the exuberance of something, you like it because it is lively, exciting, and full of energy and life.
【搭配模式】：oft N of n
The sheer exuberance of the sculpture was exhilarating.
那尊雕塑表现出的勃勃生机让人振奋。
gaiety |ˈɡeɪəti|
N-UNCOUNT 快乐；愉快；高兴
Gaiety is a feeling, attitude, or atmosphere of liveliness and fun.
Music rang out adding to the gaiety and life of the market.
音乐响起来了，给市场增添了一份快乐和生机。
6. Any of the men I approached with my notebook—managers, coaches, players, umpires, scouts—could have asked
.umpire★★☆☆☆
1.N-COUNT （体育比赛或竞赛中的）裁判，裁判员
An umpire is a person whose job is to make sure that a sports match or contest is played fairly and that the rules are not broken.
The umpire's decision is final.
裁判的裁定是不可更改的。
2.VERB在 …中担任裁判
To umpire means to be the umpire in a sports match or contest.
【语法信息】：V n
【语法信息】：V
He umpired baseball games...
他担任棒球比赛的裁判。
He umpired for school football matches until he was in his late 50s.
他担任校际足球比赛的裁判一直到年近花甲。
Thoughts:
读这章的时候，突然想到这张以前看过的图。不管我们把写作想的多么美好，它都是一个充满了恐惧、焦虑、困惑、犹豫的过程。一个好的作家，并不在于他没有这样的苦恼，而在于他如何克服它，像Zinser在这章分享的一样。
简单说起来，这章的内容是：
写作是一种快乐 （ a priceless attribute for a writer ）
克服内心的恐惧
提高自信心
Enjoyment, Zinser把它比喻成写作的开关，很形象。 只有把这个开关打开，作者才能cheer himself up，才能cheer readers up。而最简单的开关，从自己熟悉的领域入手。
If you write about subjects you think you would enjoy knowing about, your enjoyment will show in what you write. Learning is a tonic.
而Fear与confidence，其实是此消彼长的关系。对未知领域的恐惧，对结果不完美的恐惧，有时的确是自信心最大的敌人。把结果导向变成过程导向，或许是最好的方法。
如何克服恐惧，Zinser给出了如下建议：
To write about subjects that interest you and that you care about;
Sincerity is the best credential;
To think broadly about your assignment;
If you master the tools of the trade—the fundamentals of interviewing and of orderly construction—and if you bring to the assignment your general intelligence and your humanity, you can write about any subject. That’s your ticket to an interesting life.
