On Writing Well

Who is this elusive creature, the reader? The reader is someone with an attention span of about 30 seconds-- a person assailed by many forces competing for attention.

The rest of the paragraph includes all of the distractions that can affect a reader. From electronics to pets the spectrum does not end. I think William Zinsser was spot on when he says that if the writer does not simplify his work the reader will give up. This also made me laugh because sometimes this is so true. Unless I am completely into a book that I cannot put it down I usually take a glance around the room every few pages or so and then eventually find something better to do. Identifying the reader and knowing how to captivate them is a large part of writing and I think Zinsser must be some crazy genius for figuring this out.