On Writing Well

William Zinsser

My favorite definition of a careful writer comes from Joe

DiMaggio, though he didn't know that's what he was defining.

DiMaggio was the greatest player I ever saw, and nobody looked

more relaxed. He covered vast distances in the outfield, moving

in graceful strides, always arriving ahead of the ball, making the

hardest catch look routine, and even when he was at he bat, hitting

the ball with tremendous power, he didn't appear to be exerting

himself. I marveled at hoe effortless he looked because what he

did could only be achieved by great daily effort. A reporter once

asked him how he managed to play so well so consistently, and he

said: " I always thought that there was at least one person in the

stands who had never seen me play, and I didn't want to let him

down."

I really like this passage because what DiMaggio has to say reminds me of

myself. I really love to play soccer, and love playing it to the best of my ability.

Or how Zinsser says DiMaggio only achieved greatness through daily effort,

which reminds me that I can only get better at writing by writing all the time.