--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Also bear in mind, when you're choosing…" description: "\"Also bear in mind, when you're choosing your words and stringing them together, how they sound. This may seem absurd: readers read with their eyes. But..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/william-zinsser-2796_absurd_also-bear-in-mind-when-you-re-choosing-y_2104594.jpg" --- # Also bear in mind, when you're choosing your words and… ![“Also bear in mind, when you're choosing your words and stringing them together, how they sound. This may seem absurd: readers read with their eyes. But in fact they hear what they are reading far more than you realize.” quote by William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/william-zinsser-2796_absurd_also-bear-in-mind-when-you-re-choosing-y_2104594.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/william-zinsser-2796_absurd_also-bear-in-mind-when-you-re-choosing-y_2104594.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/william-zinsser-2796_absurd_also-bear-in-mind-when-you-re-choosing-y_2104594.jpg) > “Also bear in mind, when you're choosing your words and stringing them together, how they sound. This may seem absurd: readers read with their eyes. But in fact they hear what they are reading far more than you realize.” [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective writing must consider how words sound to readers, because reading is also an auditory experience. **In simple terms:** Words should sound right, not just look right. Key Takeaway Read aloud to test your prose. Themes writing auditory perception clarity style Mood analytical practical Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - editing - public speaking - teaching - content creation Key Concepts phonetics reader experience Questions to Reflect On - Do you read your work aloud? - How does sound affect comprehension? A Different Perspective Focusing only on visual can miss auditory impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) ## Related quotes > [You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a winter's night a traveler. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/you-are-about-to-begin-reading-italo-calvino-s-new-novel-if-on-a/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Audition requires different neurological processes than vision, or smell. And I would suggest that we hear more than we see while we are reading.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mendelsund/audition-requires-different-neurological-processes-than-vision-or/) [Peter Mendelsund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mendelsund/) > [Listening to my records, you feel one way about it when you hear it, but reading my words - that makes us a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarface/listening-to-my-records-you-feel-one-way-about-it-when-you-hear-it/) [Scarface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarface/) > [When I talk about doing affirmations, I mean consciously choosing words that will either help eliminate something from your life or help create something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/when-i-talk-about-doing-affirmations-i-mean-consciously-choosing/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [Novel writing, to me, is all about language: choosing your words, finding the characters within the words and just really agonizing over every word.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/novel-writing-to-me-is-all-about-language-choosing-your-words-finding/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [I feel like the reason I ended up becoming a playwright is because I never choose the right word. As a kid, my fantasy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-baker/i-feel-like-the-reason-i-ended-up-becoming-a-playwright-is-because-i/) [Annie Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-baker/) > [I wont lie. Walking into a room and seeing your girlfriend reading a baby-name book can kind of make your heart stop. Im no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalini/i-wont-lie-walking-into-a-room-and-seeing-your-girlfriend-reading-a/) [Shalini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalini/) > [Any word that you say can catch anyone's feeling so be careful by choosing words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spido/any-word-that-you-say-can-catch-anyone-s-feeling-so-be-careful-by/) Spido > [The choosing among words is made by every user of the language, and not exclusively by professional speakers and writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-follett/the-choosing-among-words-is-made-by-every-user-of-the-language-and/) [Wilson Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-follett/) > [I believe in choosing your words very carefully. It's funny: I'll get comments like, 'Oh I love you. You don't care; you have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iliza-shlesinger/i-believe-in-choosing-your-words-very-carefully-it-s-funny-i-ll-get/) [Iliza Shlesinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iliza-shlesinger/) > [“Words are complicated and rarely express what you mean; not because feelings cannot be explained with words, but the moment that we start choosing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-ringel/words-are-complicated-and-rarely-express-what-you-mean-not-because/) [Jeanette Ringel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-ringel/) > [...choosing words is harder than I thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-lord/choosing-words-is-harder-than-i-thought/) [Cynthia Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-lord/) > [Words create conceptions and self-conceptions and ultimately nations. They can start and stop wars. They can would and heal. Choosing words carefully is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/words-create-conceptions-and-self-conceptions-and-ultimately-nations/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [The sun shines. Readers read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roderick-townley/the-sun-shines-readers-read/) Roderick Townley > [If you ask 20 different readers why they read, they will all be right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-nielsen-hayden/if-you-ask-20-different-readers-why-they-read-they-will-all-be-right/) [Teresa Nielsen Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-nielsen-hayden/) ## More by William Zinsser > [“But the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. Every words that serves no function, every long word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/but-the-secret-of-good-writing-is-to-strip-every-sentence-to-its/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [No one has something original or important to say will willing we run the risk of being misunderstood; people who write obscurely are either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/no-one-has-something-original-or-important-to-say-will-willing-we-run/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Avoid the ecstatic adjectives that occupy such disproportionate space in every critic's quiver - words like "enthralling" and "luminous."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/avoid-the-ecstatic-adjectives-that-occupy-such-disproportionate-space/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Scholarship hath no fury like that of a language purist faced with sludge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/scholarship-hath-no-fury-like-that-of-a-language-purist-faced-with/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Clutter is the official language used by corporations to hide their mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/clutter-is-the-official-language-used-by-corporations-to-hide-their/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Keep your paragraphs short. Writing is visual - it catches the eye before it has a chance to catch the brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/keep-your-paragraphs-short-writing-is-visual-it-catches-the-eye/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Never hesitate to imitate another writer - every person learning a craft or an art needs models. Eventually you'll find your own voice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/never-hesitate-to-imitate-another-writer-every-person-learning-a/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Clutter is the disease of American writing,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/clutter-is-the-disease-of-american-writing/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill rode to glory on the back of the strong declarative sentence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/abraham-lincoln-and-winston-churchill-rode-to-glory-on-the-back-of/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Writing organizes and clarifies our thoughts. Writing is how we think our way into a subject and make it our own. Writing enables us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/writing-organizes-and-clarifies-our-thoughts-writing-is-how-we-think/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Rewriting is the essence of writing well - where the game is won or lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/rewriting-is-the-essence-of-writing-well-where-the-game-is-won-or-lost/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can't exist without the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/clear-thinking-becomes-clear-writing-one-can-t-exist-without-the-other/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [I almost always urge people to write in the first person. ... Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/i-almost-always-urge-people-to-write-in-the-first-person-writing-is/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Don't be kind of bold. Be bold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/don-t-be-kind-of-bold-be-bold/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Journalism is writing that first appears in any periodic journal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/journalism-is-writing-that-first-appears-in-any-periodic-journal/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) [Explore all 150 William Zinsser quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Also bear in mind, when you're choosing your words and stringing them together, how they sound. This may seem absurd: readers read with their eyes. But in fact they hear what they are reading far more than you realize.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Zinsser" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/also-bear-in-mind-when-you-re-choosing-your-words-and-stringing-them/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/also-bear-in-mind-when-you-re-choosing-your-words-and-stringing-them/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/william-zinsser-2796_absurd_also-bear-in-mind-when-you-re-choosing-y_2104594.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/william-zinsser-2796_absurd_also-bear-in-mind-when-you-re-choosing-y_2104594.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/william-zinsser-2796_absurd_also-bear-in-mind-when-you-re-choosing-y_2104594.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Also bear in mind, when you're choosing your words and stringing them together, how they sound. This may…” — William Zinsser", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Zinsser", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Also bear in mind, when you're...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/also-bear-in-mind-when-you-re-choosing-your-words-and-stringing-them/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/also-bear-in-mind-when-you-re-choosing-your-words-and-stringing-them/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```