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Archive for the ‘Mark Twain Writings’ Category

Why Use Hypnotic Writing In Advertising Your Business?

May 15th, 2011 | admin

www.ultimatewealthfromhome.com Julianne Rowat Why use hypnotic writing in advertising your business? Joe Vitale has a book out called Hypnotic Writing, in it he explains that Hypnotic Writing is a form of waking hypnosis. Find out how hypnotic writing can help you in your advertising business. Mark Twain quoted If we were all taught to speak the same way we were taught to write, we would all stutter! Joe Vitale, hypnotic writing, joe vitale law of attraction, mark twain quotes, joe vitale hypnotic marketing, advertising your business, julianne rowat, online home business, online advertising business, online marketing business, online marketing strategies, online marketing opportunities Why use hypnotic writing in advertising your business? www.ultimatewealthfromhome.com Julianne Rowat

Mark Twain, Stephen King, adjectives, and hell

April 27th, 2011 | admin

If you look for advice on your writing, surf the Internet and you will find advice galore. One writing site tells you that one reason we plunk down money for writers like Stephen King is because they use adverbs to make their writing interesting. While adverbs, like adjectives, can help your writing in moderation, many writers overuse and abuse them. This overuse and abuse has resulted in today’s overly strong reaction against adverbs and adjectives. As King says, “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.”

Mark Twain shared King’s lack of excitement about adverbs. He wrote about them in his “Reply to a Boston Girl,” in the June 1880 issue of Atlantic Monthly:

I am dead to adverbs; they cannot excite me. To misplace an adverb is a thing which I am able to do with frozen indifference; it can never give me a pang. … There are subtleties which I cannot master at all,–they confuse me, they mean absolutely nothing to me,–and this adverb plague is one of them. … Yes, there are things which we cannot learn, and there is no use in fretting about it. I cannot learn adverbs; and what is more I won’t.

King and Twain are looking at writing textually rather than from a grammar perspective. Thinking of grammar, most adverbs end with “ly”. A number of writing sites suggest using your search function to find “ly” and editing it out unless the adverb is absolutely necessary. Following this advice, I checked this draft. I found three examples with “ly”, two were mine and one was Twain’s.

1. From me: This overuse and abuse has resulted in today’s overly strong reaction against adverbs and adjectives.

2. From Mark Twain: they mean absolutely nothing to me,

3. From me: A number of writing sites suggest using your search function to find “ly” and editing it out unless it is absolutely necessary.

Let’s see if we can edit these adverbs out and improve the texts:

Example 1

Original text: This overuse and abuse has resulted in today’s overly strong reaction against adverbs and adjectives.

Revised text: This overuse has resulted in today’s strong reaction against adverbs and adjectives, ignoring their value and place in English.

The new text deleted “overly” and added a phrase starting with a gerund, a phrase using a gerund and nouns. From reading this phrase, we can tell that the reaction is too strong and we explain why: because the reaction ignores the value and place of adverbs and adjectives in English. The question is which is your preference: an adjective or the additional informative text?

Example 2

Original text: they mean absolutely nothing to me,

Revised text: they mean nothing to me,

I hesitate to edit the words of Mark Twain. Were he here today, he might agree about deleting “absolutely.” Or he might say that “absolutely nothing” sounds better. After all, they both mean the same thing.

Example 3

Original text: A number of writing sites suggest using your search function to find “ly” and editing it out unless it is absolutely necessary.

Revised text: Some writing sites suggest using your search function to find “ly” and editing “ly” out unless the adjective is necessary or improves the writing.

In example 3, more text was edited than simply the adjective. In order to have authentic examples of adjective use in this article, the draft was not edited before selecting the examples. Thus the original text contains unnecessary words, an empty it, and an adjective, all of which were edited out. The new text, without absolutely, is better.

When you write and edit your writing, edit out adjectives whenever possible. If you have difficulty editing your writing, some suggestions may help. You could have two places for your writing work. One place is where you work to write and the other is where you work to edit. The two places are much like the two hat approach. You wear your writer’s hat, the blue hat with the red feather, when you write, and you wear your editor’s hat, the green hat with the blue feather, when you edit. You sit near the window when you write; you go to the coffee shop when you edit. In writing you may cherish adjectives, but in editing you search and destroy without hesitation.

If you put your writing away for a week, you may be able to read the text as if it had been written by someone else. You may feel no connection to the writing and given the lack of connection, you may begin to edit without feeling ownership of the text.

Still, in spite of everything we’ve said, moderate adjective use can improve writing.

This video concerning the topic of Race, 1800-1850, comes from the Mark Twain’s Mississippi website (dig.lib.niu.edu which is a creation of Northern Illinois University Libraries’ Digital Initiatives Unit: www.ulib.niu.edu The Mark Twain’s Mississippi site provides a fully searchable and indexed digital library of some of Samuel Clemens’ publications under the name of Mark Twain, placing special emphasis upon Twain’s Mississippi novels and reminiscences (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Life on the Mississippi). These works serve as lenses through which the public may explore additional text, image and sound materials, drawn from the participating libraries, describing the Mississippi Valley that Mark Twain remembered and imagined in writing his classic works of literature. Combined with Twain’s works and original interpretive essays written by consulting scholars, these materials illuminate important aspects and themes in the society and culture of the Mississippi valley in the period 1830-1890. These themes include Twain’s on-going discussion of the course of Americans’ western settlement and their conflicts with Native Americans; the emergence of a new American economic order, replacing Twain’s world of villages and steamboats with railroads and factories, the emergence of genteel culture and westerners’ reactions to and interpretations of it; and the saga of America’s sectional crisis, Civil War, and Reconstruction. Please see the …

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Polemical writings of Twain, Goldman and Van Doren

April 22nd, 2011 | admin

Part 9 of my review of Christopher Hitchens’ ‘The Portable Atheist’. I briefly review the writings of Mark Twain, Emma Goldman and Carl Van Doren. Thanks for listening.
Video Rating: 5 / 5

WritingAlchemy.com Writing Tips on using dialogue effective…advice from Mark Twain. “Writing in Five” is a series of audios and videos designed to help fiction and memoir writers with their craft. Visit http for more tips and information about the new book Writing Alchemy. Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler draw these “Writing in Five” lessons from books by masters they have reviewed in the process of working on their book, Writing Alchemy. Each “Writing in Five” explores a single concept, a nugget that will give you a new perspective as you improve your writing.
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Novel “After the Bones” Reimagines Twain’s Time in Hawaii

April 19th, 2011 | admin

Novel “After the Bones” Reimagines Twain’s Time in Hawaii . Honolulu, HI (PRWEB) June 14, 2006

“After the Bones”, a novel by Mark Hazard Osmun, is being released today by Twelfth Night Press. The novel is a tale of historical intrigue, conspiracy, murder, mysticism and deception centered around a plot to overthrow the Hawaiian monarchy of 1866 and follows the chronology of Mark Twain’s visit to the islands during that year. The writing is lyrical and evocative.

In “After the Bones”, two actors, Mac Ducain and Delaware Flinn, both wrongly implicated in the Lincoln assassination, flee to Hawai`i, hoping to hide in that “foreign kingdom.” Instead, they find themselves drawn ever deeper into political conspiracies—manipulated by a master British assassin—as they try to evade American authorities. Influencing the course of events is mana, the mystical strength emanating from the bones of the first King Kamehameha.

“After the Bones” presents a balanced blend of action, romance, intrigue and the supernatural while probing the human struggle to overcome doubt and distrust and take the proverbial great leap of faith. It also is an homage to a Hawaiian culture struggling for survival then as now.

The novel marks the first partnership between Twelfth Night Press and the rapidly-growing print-on-demand distributor, Lulu.com. AFTER THE BONES is available via two web sites: http://www.lulu.com/MarkOsmun and http://www.markosmun.com.

Mark Hazard Osmun is the author of “Marley’s Ghost,” “The Honolulu Marathon,” and “After the Bones.”

“After the Bones”: 363-page trade paperback. ISBN 0-9673079-1-0. Retail: $ 16.95.

©Copyright 1997-, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

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Mark Twain’s Mississippi, 1800-1900: Economic Development, 1800-1850

April 18th, 2011 | admin

This video concerning the topic of Economic Development, 1800-1850, comes from the Mark Twain’s Mississippi website (dig.lib.niu.edu which is a creation of Northern Illinois University Libraries’ Digital Initiatives Unit: www.ulib.niu.edu The Mark Twain’s Mississippi site provides a fully searchable and indexed digital library of some of Samuel Clemens’ publications under the name of Mark Twain, placing special emphasis upon Twain’s Mississippi novels and reminiscences (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Life on the Mississippi).

These works serve as lenses through which the public may explore additional text, image and sound materials, drawn from the participating libraries, describing the Mississippi Valley that Mark Twain remembered and imagined in writing his classic works of literature. Combined with Twain’s works and original interpretive essays written by consulting scholars, these materials illuminate important aspects and themes in the society and culture of the Mississippi valley in the period 1830-1890.

These themes include Twain’s on-going discussion of the course of Americans’ western settlement and their conflicts with Native Americans; the emergence of a new American economic order, replacing Twain’s world of villages and steamboats with railroads and factories, the emergence of genteel culture and westerners’ reactions to and interpretations of it; and the saga of America’s sectional crisis, Civil War, and Reconstruction …

Video Rating: 0 / 5

Has the Distinctive and Legendary Writing Style of Mark Twain Been Rediscovered in Capitaland?

April 17th, 2011 | admin

Standing amongst a backdrop of Easter flower blossoms in this northeastern city on the Hudson, author J. Peter Yakel takes a moment to reflect on comments that his magnum opus, “The Legend of Juggin Joe”, is akin to the writing style of American literary giant, Mark Twain.

With a smile, the self-published author says, “Whilst I have been known on occasion to farcically opine that my book, “The Legend of Juggin Joe”, may well be an up-and-coming book classic, I never had the gumption to place myself on a pedestal with the likes of Mark Twain. Still, considering the excellent reviews that Juggin Joe has received since its release, I’m flattered and humbly agreeable to the comparisons made between the two of us.

Yakel proffers, “Sure, Twain and I share a handful of similarities, such as our keen wit and humor, public popularity, and the fact that the highly specialized dialects of our storytelling, totally captivates readers. This last aspect, I might add, was the source of much jealousy among a number of writers and cultural elitist’s in Twain’s day, though as yet, I haven’t been ‘blessed’ by such discord in my own right…”

“The characters in my book, especially the main character, Juggin Joe, lead fascinating lives, portrayed with color and vitality, just like Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. Once you pick up this short tale, you’re hard-pressed to put it down until you’ve reached the back cover. Such is the allure of Juggin Joe”, says Capitaland’s Favorite Author.

“A list of Juggin Joe reviews is far too large for this brief discussion,” says Yakel, “but there are links to many noteworthy comments and international book reviews available on my website, http://www.lulu.com/yakel I encourage everyone to visit, and discover for themselves why my brand of writing is reshaping American literature in ways that haven’t been seen in decades.”

Yakel opines that, for some, Juggin Joe may only be a lightweight outlet for laughter, or even a grammatical nightmare. He’s fine with that. “After all, it is a humor book”, he says, and adds, “One must remember that shortly after Twain published, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, in 1885, it was banned by a committee that found it unsuitable for intelligent, respectable people. Among other things, the elitists of the era couldn’t fathom Twain’s use of dialect and narration. But, of course, those fools were completely out of touch with the everyday folk, and as we all know, Twain’s book went on to transform American literature. So, here we are, 121 years later, and The Legend of Juggin Joe is once again transforming American literature in much the same way.”

How does this firebrand of a self-published author feel, having written such an inimitable literary work? “Excellent”, says Yakel, adding, “Perhaps the only ones who might feel better than me are the traditional publisher or movie director who is savvy enough to grab onto this gem before their competitors beat them to the punch. The varied interest in Juggin Joe as an audio book or movie leads me to believe it could be huge in either media market.”

The Legend of Juggin Joe (ISBN 1-4116-2588-9) is available for purchase on the world-wide-web, by logging onto: http://www.lulu.com/yakel or by visiting the following Capitaland NY stores: Borders of Colonie, Borders of Clifton Park; The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza; or I Love Books, Inc. of Delmar.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J. Peter Yakel is a freelance writer and author. In print since 1998, his writing ranges from genealogy, humor, and electronics technology, to leadership and military history. Contact the author via e-mail at: armeuv1 AT yahoo DOT com

ABOUT LULU

Founded in 2002, Lulu is the world’s fastest-growing provider of print-on-demand books for digital do-it-yourselfers. Visit http://www.lulu.com for more information.

©Copyright 1997-, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Finger Lakes Wine Country Celebrates Mark Twain Throughout 2010

April 17th, 2011 | admin

Corning, NY (Vocus) January 7, 2010

The year 2010 will mark the 175th anniversary of Twain’s birth, the Centennial of his death, and the 125th anniversary of the publishing of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Elmira, New York, also known as Mark Twain Country, will be celebrating his life with a year filled with Twain themed events and special promotions.

The following events will take place from April 21, the death date, through April 24, the day he was laid to rest at Elmira’s Woodlawn Cemetery:
Wednesday, April 21, (Death Centennial) Hal Holbrook to perform his Emmy & Tony award-winning performance of Mark Twain Tonight at Clemens Center for the Performing Arts.

Saturday, April 24, Re-enactment of Twain’s gravesite service and burial at Woodlawn Cemetery. The event will use details provided by articles from the New York Post and New York Times along with other historical sources, and will include a horse drawn carriage transporting the casket.

Wednesday, April 21 – Saturday, April 24, Trolley into Twain Country Tours Centennial Excursions, One hour guided tours that will include a stop to go inside the Mark Twain Study (where Twain penned such classics as Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn while summering in Elmira with his in-laws for 22 years) and the Clemens family burial site at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Wednesday, April 21 – Friday, April 23, Dine like Twain dinners to be offered at Hill Top Restaurant. Feast on Twain’s favorite foods while overlooking the exact same view of the Chemung River Valley that inspired him to create such beloved characters as Tom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher and Huck Finn at the family home on the same hill.

April 22 & 24, Twain Notes, A theatrical reading of the personal correspondence of Samuel Clemens and those closest to him, from the time he met his beloved wife, Olivia Langdon, through his final days. Held at The Park Church, of which Twain was a member.
Saturday April 24, Tom Sawyer & Becky Thatcher Day at Harris Hill, Harris Hill, the Soaring Capital of America, welcomes Twain enthusiasts to take a glider ride over Mark Twain Country and view the Twain Exhibit at the National Soaring Museum, or join in a Tom Sawyer & Becky Thatcher in a game of putt-putt at Harris Hill Amusement Park.

Other events during in Mark Twain Country during 2010 include scenic glider, vintage plane and helicopter rides over the spectacular views that inspired the author; the dedication of a Twain hiking trail overlooking the Chemung River and complete with Twain quotes; Trolley into Twain Country Tours throughout July and August, the release of a commemorative Twain-labeled Riesling from award-winning Glenora Wine Cellars, and much, much more.

Visitors are also encouraged to pay their respects to this American Classic at Woodlawn Cemetery, enjoy a tour of the Mark Twain Study, or visit the permanent display a the Chemung Valley History Museum. A complete calendar of events can be found at http://www.MarkTwainCountry.com//Twain2010.asp.

Samuel Clemens or more notably known as Mark Twain, called many places home. While he grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, lived in Hartford, Connecticut, and Buffalo, New York, it was in Elmira, New York that America’s favorite son traveled when he sought refuge and renewal to live out his private life.

Twain married Elmiran Olivia Langdon, in a simple ceremony at the mansion of his in-laws and remained tethered to the city and his in-laws for the balance of his life. Twain was particularly close to his father-in-law, Jervis Langdon, a wealthy businessman who was actively outspoken against slavery and aggressively active in the Underground Railroad, and Jervis’ views on abolition greatly influenced Mark Twain’s writing.

Twain returned to Elmira to summer for 22 years at the home of his sister-in-law, perched in the hills overlooking the Chemung River Valley. He drew much inspiration from the spectacular views and referred to Elmira as a “foretaste of Heaven.” He sequestered himself in a tiny Study his in-laws had made for him to write his classics, such as Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Adventures of Tom Sawyer, among many others.

The Mark Twain Study, a gazebo-type structure that was built to resemble the top of a Mississippi steamboat, has since been moved to the campus of Elmira College where it is open to the public, and was noted by USA Today as the ‘#1 Literary Attraction in America’.

Although Twain traveled globally and laid claim to being a citizen of the world, it was in Elmira that he chose to be laid to rest at Woodlawn Cemetery alongside his wife and four children.

More information on Mark Twain Country and the 2010 Twain Celebration can be found at http://www.MarkTwainCountry.com and http://www.FingerLakesWineCountry.com. Finger Lakes Wine Country, New York is a world-class wine country destination that boasts excitement, affordability, and fun for everyone. Begin planning your escape to Finger Lakes Wine Country now at http://www.FingerLakesWineCountry.com. Download a free travel guide, build your own personalized itinerary, and discover your ideal vacation destination that is just down the road.

©Copyright 1997-, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

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Niemann: Would Twain have preferred to be an inventor rather than a writer?

April 16th, 2011 | admin

“Inventors are the creators of the world â “ after God.” — Mark Twain

While we’re all familiar with the writings of Mark Twain, many people don’t know that he was highly involved with inventions, both as an inventor himself and as an investor in other people’s inventions. Twain profited from some of his own inventions, but he lost a lot of money investing in other people’s inventions.

His first invention was for a vest strap that served as a collar and vest, which was designed to replace suspenders. He was granted Patent No. 122,992 in December 1871.

“The first thing you want in a new country is a patent office. A country without a patent office and good patent laws â ¦ couldn’t travel any way but sideways or backwards.” — Mark Twain

Mark Twain received two other patents during his lifetime. One was for a self-pasting scrapbook in 1873, which he named Mark Twain’s Scrapbook, and the other was in 1883 for a game called “Memory Builder.” This game made it easier to remember historical dates, but it didn’t succeed commercially.

Twain earned a fortune and gained international fame from his writings, yet there was something significant about his scrapbook invention. What was it? Read on; the answer is at the end of the story.

“We are called the nation of inventors. And we are. We could still claim that title and wear its loftiest honors if we had stopped with the first thing we invented, which was human liberty.” — Mark Twain

While Twain had profited from some of his inventions, there were other inventions that he thought of but did not commercialize. In his notebooks, Twain recorded ideas for microfilm in 1885, and for an invention that would use “pictures transferred by light,” similar to modern television, in 1888, as well as an idea for the use of fingerprinting, which was the cornerstone of the plot in his novel, Pudd’nhead Wilson, published in 1894.

Mark Twain lost more than $500,000 in his lifetime from the failed inventions in which he invested, including the Paige typesetter. But the invention that cost Twain the most was one in which he did not invest in. When Twain was approached by a man who had invented what was to become one of the most successful machines of all time with the opportunity to invest in it, Twain responding by telling him that he wasn’t interested because he had been burned once too often on inventions.

As the man was walking away, Twain asked him his name. “Bell,” he replied, as in Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone.

What was the significance of the scrapbook that Twain invented? He earned more money from it than he did from his writings that year. Mark Twain was a moderately successful inventor; without the recognition that he earned from his writings, the world probably would never have known of his inventions. He also achieved more success as an inventor than most inventors do.

–niemann7@aol.com

California Legacy SL #3: Mark Twain – Baker’s BlueJay Yarn

April 15th, 2011 | admin

The California Legacy Project at Santa Clara University is dedicated to preserving Californias unique culture through our book series, our radio productions, and now through the virtual world of Second Life, using machinima videos to visualize the writings. Currently, California Legacy has published almost 40 books—reprints, single author studies, and new anthologies—with our publishing partner, Heyday Books. With KAZU Public Radio, 90.3 Pacific Grove, we have produced nearly 500 segments of our 90 second “Your California Legacy” programs. For more on The California Legacy Project, visit www.californialegacy.org This third episode is an excerpt from Mark Twain’s “A Tramp Abroad” (1880).
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Mark Twain?s Family And His Young Age

April 14th, 2011 | admin

Mark Twain or his actual name as Samuel Langhorne (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910) was a legend in America’s literature. He had produced thousands of writings, from articles, letters, journals to novels. Among his famous novel was Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which was later called as Great American Novel. His another masterpiece, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer became an American classic and bestseller, at the time of his death. William Faulkner called him as The Father of American Literature.

Mark Twain was born in Florida, Missouri on November 30, 1835. His Father, John Marshall Clemens (August 11, 1798 – March 24, 1847) was a Tennessee country merchant while his mother was Jane Lampton Clemens (June 18, 1803 – October 27, 1890). Unfortunately, his father died of pneumonia at his age of 11.

Mark Twain, including him, had 7 siblings. He was the 6th of the 7 children. Below are the summary of his siblings.

Orion (July 17, 1825 – December 11, 1897) Pamela (September 19, 1827 – August 31, 1904) Pleasant (1828–1829) Margaret (May 31, 1830 – August 17, 1839) Benjamin (June 8, 1832 – May 12, 1842) Samuel (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910) – Mark Twain himself Henry ((July 13, 1838 – June 21, 1858)

Most of his siblings died at young age. Henry died in a riverboat explosion at the age of 20. When he was three years old, his sister Margaret died at 9 years old, followed by his brother, Benjamin 3 years later (aged 10). Pleasant died at only 6 month old.

Mark Twain followed his family to Hannibal, Missouri at the age of 4. This place was a port town on the Mississippi River. It gave Twain lots of inspiration for his writing of the fictional town of St. Petersburg in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  Twain was able to familiarize with the institution of slavery as Missouri was a slave state, which enabled him to write about it in his writings.

The next year after his father’s death, Twain became a printer’s apprentice. In 1851, which he was only 16 years old, he worked as a typesetter and soon writing articles and humorous sketches for his brother, Orion’s newspaper, Hannibal Journal. Two years later, he left Hannibal and worked as a printer in New York City, Philadelhpia, St. Louis and Cincinnati. Twain did not attend any conventional school. However, he could educate himself in public libraries in the evenings. Public libraries was his paradise of wide sources of information and knowledge. At 22, Twain returned to Missouri.

Get Mark Twain’s best selling novels at The Mark Twain Classical Ebook Collection