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254 ON WRITING WELL WOODPECKER, APRIL 10,1882. "Think of it! This bird is 112 years old," he said. He opened some other drawers and gently held several other late Victorians for me to ponder—a link to the presidency of Grover Cleveland. The Rizzoli book, with its stunning paintings and photographs, was published in 1995, and Peterson died a year later, his quest finally over, having sighted "scarcely more than 4,500" of the worlds 9,000 species of birds. Did I enjoy the time I spent on the two articles? I can't really say I did; Peterson was too dour for that, not much fun. But I enjoyed having brought off a complicated story that took me outside my normal experience. I also had bagged a rare bird of my own, and when I put Peterson away in a drawer with my other collected specimens I thought: that was interesting.
22 esse The Tyranny of the Final Product In the writing course called "People and Places" that I teach at the New School, in Manhattan, students often tell me they have an idea for an article that would be perfect for New York, or for Sports Illustrated, or for some other magazine. That's the last thing I want to hear. They can already picture their story in print: the headline, the layout, the photographs and, best of all, the byline. Now all they have to do is write it. This fixation on the finished article causes writers a lot of trouble, deflecting them from all the earlier decisions that have to be made to determine its shape and voice and content. It's a very American kind of trouble. We are a culture that worships the winning result: the league championship, the high test score. Coaches are paid to win, teachers are valued for getting students into the best colleges. Less glamorous gains made along the way—learning, wisdom, growth, confidence, dealing with
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On Writing Well
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On Writing Well cssao THE CLASSIC G
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C O N T E N T S osso INTRODUCTION 1
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INTRODUCTION CSSQ When I first wrot
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INTRODUCTION xi writers worse. Good
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P A R T I -esee- Principles
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4 ON WRITING WELL Absolutely not, h
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6 ON WRITING WELL of gimmicks to "p
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8 ON WRITING WELL struction that le
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10 ON WRITING WELL is too dumb or t
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12 ON WRITING WELL Faced with such
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14 ON WRITING WELL typical of hundr
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16 ON WRITING WELL think there's mu
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QSSSO Style So much for early warni
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20 ON WRITING WELL unique. The read
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22 ON WRITING WELL I realize that t
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24 ON WRITING WELL aging boxers don
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26 ON WRITING WELL tion or sleep. N
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28 ON WRITING WELL who fill the air
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30 ON WRITING WELL religion and the
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32 ON WRITING WELL and it allows fo
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34 ON WRITING WELL someone is forev
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36 ON WRITING WELL instance, and yo
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CSSSO Usage All this talk about goo
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40 ON WRITING WELL Mumford that the
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42 ON WRITING WELL Just where Webst
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44 ON WRITING WELL Meanwhile the ba
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46 ON WRITING WELL back, though I'd
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8 CSS30 Unity You learn to write by
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Unity 51 Such fatal mixtures are co
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Unity 53 When your zest begins to e
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csso The Lead and the Ending The mo
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The Lead and the Ending 57 I've oft
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The Lead and the Ending 59 One reas
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The Lead and the Ending 61 warehous
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The Lead and the Ending 63 general
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The Lead and the Ending 65 (lia and
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The Lead and the Ending 67 Somethin
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Bits & Pieces 69 sive-voice writers
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Bits & Pieces 71 tences become long
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Bits & Pieces 73 pistol might be lo
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Bits & Pieces 75 go." Look for all
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Bits & Pieces 77 The common reactio
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Bits & Pieces 79 who are so busy th
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Bits & Pieces 81 of thought. Compar
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Bits & Pieces 83 This still leaves
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Bits & Pieces 85 eral different way
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Bits & Pieces 87 which sick people
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Bits & Pieces 89 It's no longer nec
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Bits & Pieces 91 know that about ho
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P A R T I I I OBSO Forms
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96 ON WRITING WELL midst, and none
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98 ON WRITING WELL Magazines were s
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1 2 CSSO Writing About People The I
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102 ON WRITING WELL building turned
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104 ON WRITING WELL roommate. With
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106 ON WRITING WELL Obviously the t
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108 ON WRITING WELL used words and
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110 ON WRITING WELL call the person
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112 ON WRITING WELL revelation by J
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114 ON WRITING WELL Now, nobody thi
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1 3 -esee- Writing About Places The
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118 ON WRITING WELL rency. Half the
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120 ON WRITING WELL Bernardino out
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122 ON WRITING WELL American spore.
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124 ON WRITING WELL hood of the wri
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126 ON WRITING WELL to 110 degrees
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128 ON WRITING WELL with a hawk tha
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130 ON WRITING WELL Nine of my site
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132 ON WRITING WELL recalled that u
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134 ON WRITING WELL want to see pop
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136 ON WRITING WELL to the roots of
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138 ON WRITING WELL My father loved
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140 ON WRITING WELL Row overlooking
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142 ON WRITING WELL chagrin was acc
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144 ON WRITING WELL Johnson, who gr
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146 ON WRITING WELL tors on adulter
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1 5 OSSO Science and Technology Tak
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150 ON WRITING WELL ing it up—but
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152 ON WRITING WELL Good. I could h
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154 ON WRITING WELL sleeping, for e
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156 ON WRITING WELL The nautilus ha
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158 ON WRITING WELL really belt it
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160 ON WRITING WELL constant relati
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162 ON WRITING WELL Constructed lik
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164 ON WRITING WELL Even a child kn
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1 6 csso Business Writing Writing i
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168 ON WRITING WELL First notice ho
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170 ON WRITING WELL During this yea
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172 ON WRITING WELL edly. Whenever
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174 ON WRITING WELL needs. It began
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176 ON WRITING WELL I learned about
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178 ON WRITING WELL acquiesce in th
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180 ON WRITING WELL any pig farmer
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182 ON WRITING WELL What ever becam
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184 ON WRITING WELL by, a loner. It
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186 ON WRITING WELL lete's psychic
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188 ON WRITING WELL moment is ripe
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190 ON WRITING WELL making the driv
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192 ON WRITING WELL little League,
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1 8 CRSSD Writing About the Arts Cr
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196 ON WRITING WELL Probably only t
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198 ON WRITING WELL a play, don't j
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200 ON WRITING WELL wigs, unorthodo
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202 ON WRITING WELL given back to u
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Page 230 and 231: 216 ON WRITING WELL Ade was a repor
Page 232 and 233: 218 ON WRITING WELL medium—dogger
Page 234 and 235: 220 ON WRITING WELL savoring his st
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Page 242 and 243: 228 ON WRITING WELL said I would te
Page 245: PART IV Og&O Attitudes
Page 248 and 249: 234 ON WRITING WELL There is a kind
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Page 262 and 263: 248 ON WRITING WELL Also remember t
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Page 266 and 267: 252 ON WRITING WELL much as you see
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Page 278 and 279: 264 ON WRITING WELL Writing is rela
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Page 300 and 301: 24 -esse- Write as Well as You Can
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Page 306 and 307: 292 ON WRITING WELL repeated, and h
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Page 310 and 311: 296 SOURCES 66 "Coolidge," by H. L.
Page 312 and 313: 298 SOURCES 188-90 Confessions of a
Page 315 and 316: I N D E X osao Aciman, André, 136
Page 317 and 318: Index 303 Eisenhower, Dwight, 239 E
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Index 305 Lin, Maya, 130 Lincoln, A
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Index 307 Satire, 209 Saturday Even
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