Mark My Words: Mark Twain on Writing

Mark my Words

Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (August 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312143656
ISBN-13: 978-0312143657

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Provides a personal look at the man behind the writing through an amusing collection of his expressed opinions and thoughts on such topics as such as fellow writers, authors, editors, children’s books, humor, and public speakers.

When he died in 1910, Mark Twain left behind more than a legacy of timeless novels and essays. He also bequeathed a wealth of useful – and funny – opinions on style, literary habits, and the writer’s role in society. Nearly a century later, Twain’s thoughts still provide information and inspiration for the novelist, essayist, public speaker, or armchair aficionado of the English language.

Compiled by veteran Twain enthusiast Mark Dawidziak, Mark My Words offers tips from Twain as true today as when he wrote them. Here you’ll find the famous essay “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses,” as delightfully malicious as it is instructive, as well as tips for the perfect speech (you must take at least three weeks to write an impromptu speech), the perfect book for children (it must interest not only boys but any man who has ever been a boy) – even the perfect editor (it’s best to edit while awake).

Author: Mark Dawidziak

Mark Dawidziak is the author or editor of about 25 books, including three studies of landmark television series: The Columbo Phile: A Casebook, The Night Stalker Companion and Everything I Need to Know I Learned in The Twilight Zone, his lighthearted 2017 tribute to Rod Serling’s classic anthology series. He also is an internationally recognized Mark Twain scholar, and five of his books are about the iconic American writer. He spent 43 years as a television, film and theater critic at such newspapers as the Akron Beacon Journal and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. His work on the horror side of the street also includes the novel Grave Secrets, The Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Dracula, short stories, and comic book scripts. He lives in Ohio.