Advice from the Masters: Mark Twain

Aug 2, 2017 | Better Writing

Mark Twain is an icon. No less a personage than William Faulkner called him “the father of American literature.” Most likely you had to read one or more of his books when you were in school. Huckleberry Finn as assigned to me in high school and then twice in college. Twain also wrote short stories and articles. So he had lots of experience to draw on when he said this.

“The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time, you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is you really want to say.”

Want more? Check out the complete list of Advice from the Masters posts. You’ll find more advice from Mark Twain here.

If you want even more writing advice from writers, check out Jon Winokur’s blog, “AdvicetoWriters.”

Reading Suggestions

Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain: A Biography by Justin Kaplan

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer