To become a good writer, Trimble’s most fundamental piece of advice is to choose topics that spark your passion: “Pick a subject that means something to you, emotionally as well as intellectually” (4). Without passion for your topic, your prose will be boring, uninspired, and dull. In other words, you will have nothing truly interesting to say, and your reader will sniff out your disinterest in the first paragraph. Failure to choose topics that interest you will always equate to failed writing: “It is impossible to write vigorous prose […] unless vigorous emotion is present to energize your ideas,” he warns, “so pick a subject that you have an emotional stake in and write about it just as honestly as you know how” (6).

Passion for a topic can include feelings of excitement, anger, outrage, negativity, or delight; it need not be a positive emotion. A scathing critique of a new movie is just as compelling for the reader as a positive review. In either case, “turn your feelings to account—work in harmony with them and actively tap them” (5). If Trimble were to rank the top components that all good writing shares, this advice would come before grammar, punctuation, or even evidence.