Writing with a Word Processor

In this helpful and entertaining book the author of the classic On Writing Well explains that he has always had a love of paper and a fear of mechanical objects. He describes how he confronted his hang-ups, got a word processor, taught himself to use it and gradually overcame his sense of inferiority to the machine. He explains how the word processor—by enabling him to revise his work instantly on a screen—has changed his lifelong methods of writing, rewriting and editing.

But William Zinsser's book isn't only for writers. It's for all the people who have to do any kind of writing—memos, letters, reports, directives—as part of their working day. It explains how the word processor will save time and money in an office or a corporation and predicts that it will soon be our primary writing tool.

On one level Writing with a Word Processor is a manual for beginners that describes clearly and simply how to use the new technology. But it is also one writer's story. William Zinsser takes the reader along on a highly personal journey, writing with warmth and humor about his anxieties and fears, his setbacks and triumphs. His book is both an informal guide and an encouraging companion.