Mark Twain: Writing with Wit

By Yvonne DiVita - Jan 31 , 2008

I read a marketing article this week titled, “Move over Seth Godin, Einstein’s Here” by Max Kalehoff, over at Mediapost (NOTE: free subscription may be required), and it got me to thinking about—writing and self-publishing and how writers who have gone before us, still influence us today.

Kalehoff used a number of Einstein quotes to create chapter titles for a marketing book, all in theory, not reality. He did a bang-up job, btw. So hop over to the link and read his post.

My thinking was about the process of writing. I got to wondering how writing today is affected by those who have gone before us – especially those whose names are known the world over.

What advice, I thought, would the estimable and prolific writer, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) have to offer a 21st century writer—someone living with the kind of technology that can actually write your book for you? Writers of today might do well to harken back to those steamboat days of Mark Twain, to find not only their writing voice, but their motivation for choosing a world often fraught with disappointment and rejection.

With thanks to Kalehoff for the idea, and with great respect for both Twain and Einstein, here are my thoughts on 5 popular Twain sayings that could serve as advice or inspiration, to the right writer, at the right time:

A local woman’s book club is reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the better to be successful at their businesses, I expect. Well, for writers striving for success, Twain might have simply said, “Do something every day that you don’t want to do; this is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain.” The operative phrase is “doing your duty.” When you’re writing a book, your duty is to write, every day. Make it a habit, and it will become effective, even when you don’t want to.

To the popularity of The Da Vinci Code, perhaps Mark Twain would have said, “Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn’t.”—which means, if you’re writing a business book or a biography, or a history book – if you’re into non-fiction, stick to the facts. Leave the meandering to the fiction writers. And, when you get into creative non-fiction, though you may be “obliged to stick to possibilities,” remember some of the people reading your book will remember the truth. Some of them might be related to you, so tread carefully!

Sometimes we writers like to get really creative—we use accents in our dialogue, we’re free and easy with slang, and, by golly, we have even been known to make up words. Personally, I have no problem with that. Certainly, psychologists do it to the extreme! It’s likely Mark Twain felt the same way when he said, “I don’t give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.” Mind you, I’m not advising you to forget how to spell or use grammar properly. I’m merely saying that sometimes it’s okay to jar the reader by being unconventional, as long as you do it intentionally and with forethought.

A good friend and author (published over at WME) is fond of accusing popular culture for many of the world’s ills. Lee Thayer would like people to think for themselves, rather than follow the crowd. I wonder if that’s what the Twain meant by this quote, “Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.” For writers hoping to become best sellers, it could mean – marketing your book is not done by thinking small. Think big, act big, make your ‘small’ book BIG – advertise it on a billboard, if necessary.

The last Twain quote I will share with you today is my favorite. It harkens back to the reason you are writing your book, and why you might choose to self-publish. Twain said, “When a person cannot deceive himself, the chances are against his being able to deceive other people.” The word deceive may be a bit strong for the concept that I think works with this phrase, but consider this: If YOU do not believe your own words, why should I? As any good writing teacher will tell you —– and this applies primarily to fiction but influences non-fiction, also —– if your writing does not suspend the reader’s ‘disbelief,’ you are fighting a losing battle. The reader must believe what she is reading. She must wholeheartedly buy into what you’ve written – else wonder why you wrote it, and of what interest it can possibly be to her.

As a bonus, I leave you with this thought from Twain – tack it up on your bulletin board and allow it to guide you in your daily writing:

Don’t part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.

Write on.