On writing

The National Day on Writing is October 20. Writing is a certainly a good way to get better at writing. Still, advice from the best of writers is helpful. Below is some advice from Mark Twain at Advice From One Writer to Another at About.com  To read more, click the hyperlinked text below.

"I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English--it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don't let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don't mean utterly, but kill most of them--then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice."(Mark Twain)