In Defense of the Adverb
A common error among young writers is to heap on the adjectives and adverbs, while more experienced writers prefer to concentrate on nouns and verbs, using modifiers selectively. Mark Twain famously hyperbolized: “When you catch an adjective, kill it.” But let’s be reasonable.
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Mark Twain on Writing: Graphic Quotes
Mark Twain was a prolific dispenser of wit, wisdom, and sarcasm. This post contains some choice Twainisms on writing.
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Mark Twain’s Criticism of James Fenimore Cooper
Since my first encounter with Tom Sawyer, I have been a fan of Mark Twain. You’d be hard pressed to find an author with a sharper wit and keener insight into human nature. His Adventures of Huckleberry Finn certainly ranks among the greatest of American novels. What you may not know is that Twain was also a scathing literary critic.
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