Attitude, as William Zinsser uses it in 📝On Writing Well, is the stance a writer brings to the page: the ego and confidence to put part of one's life on paper, and the discipline to do it well.

Writing is an act of ego and confidence. We put some part of our lives “on paper” in a memo. Zinsser says as much directly: “Writing is an act of ego, and you might as well admit it.” It takes two things:

• Self Esteem - What we want to see pop out of what you write is individuality - a sense that you are someone special. Someone different. Someone who has a story to tell that is all your own.
• Self Discipline - Writing is hard work. In Zinsser's words, “a clear sentence is no accident,” and very few sentences come out right the first time. Thinking clearly is a conscious act writers must force on themselves, and the essence of writing is rewriting: cutting the clutter until every word does work.

In On Writing Well, attitude sits beside 📝Audience as one of the key points that frame the book's four principles of good writing, which John applies to forecasting in 📝Four Principles.

Contexts

• 🏷️#dictionary
• 🏷️#writing