How to Tell a Story and Other Essays: A Collection of Short Stories
By Mark Twain
()
About this ebook
Mark Twain
Mark Twain, who was born Samuel L. Clemens in Missouri in 1835, wrote some of the most enduring works of literature in the English language, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc was his last completed book—and, by his own estimate, his best. Its acquisition by Harper & Brothers allowed Twain to stave off bankruptcy. He died in 1910.
Read more from Mark Twain
A Vintage Christmas: A Collection of Classic Stories and Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMark Twain's Civil War Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/520 Classic Children Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Innocents Abroad Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Classic Children's Stories (Golden Deer Classics) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Prince and the Pauper Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Journeys Through Time & Space: 5 Classic Novels of Science Fiction and Fantasy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Christmas Library: 250+ Essential Christmas Novels, Poems, Carols, Short Stories...by 100+ Authors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/550 Great Love Letters You Have To Read (Golden Deer Classics) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Short Stories of Mark Twain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Classic American Short Story MEGAPACK ® (Volume 1): 34 of the Greatest Stories Ever Written Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mark Twain on Common Sense: Timeless Advice and Words of Wisdom from America?s Most-Revered Humorist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Roughing It Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Greatest Christmas Stories of All Time: Timeless Classics That Celebrate the Season Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBig Book of Christmas Tales: 250+ Short Stories, Fairytales and Holiday Myths & Legends Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings50 Feminist Masterpieces you have to read before you die (Golden Deer Classics) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Humorous Tales (Warbler Classics Annotated Edition) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings20 Eternal Masterpieces Of Children Stories (Golden Deer Classics) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to How to Tell a Story and Other Essays
Titles in the series (19)
Roughing It: Travel Memoirs from the American West Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer: The Prequel to Huckleberry Finn Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAdventures of Huckleberry Finn: The Sequel to Tom Sawyer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Prince and the Pauper: A Prince and a Poor Boy Swap Places Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Tell a Story and Other Essays: A Collection of Short Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLife on the Mississippi: Mississippi River Adventure Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Alonzo Fitz and Other Stories: Short Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTom Sawyer, Detective: Detective Fiction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Stolen White Elephant: Short Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe American Claimant: Classic Fiction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMark Twain’s Speeches: A Collection of Speeches by Famous American Author Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Innocents Abroad: A Travelogue Through Europe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTom Sawyer Abroad: Classic Fiction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Tramp Abroad: Travels in Europe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson: From The Author of Tom Sawyer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg: From the Author of Tom Sawyer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories: A Short Story Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIs Shakespeare Dead?: From My Autobiography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court: Classic Fiction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related ebooks
The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Play-Making: A Manual of Craftsmanship Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Glossary of Rhetorical Terms: Second Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWrite Better Right Now: The Reluctant Writer's Guide to Confident Communication and Self-Assured Style Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNew Tracks: Demystifying the Art of Writing Good Lyrics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEssays in the Art of Writing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLet the Story Do the Work: The Art of Storytelling for Business Success Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tell Them a Story: Using Narrative Nonfiction in Your Everyday Writing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Tell a Story: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Storytelling for Writers and Readers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings100 Years of the Best American Short Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Narrative Verse, The First Volume Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seven Steps to Confident Writing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Elements of Style Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Writing Wonderfully: The Craft of Creative Fiction Writing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Farnsworth's Classical English Metaphor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Building Great Sentences (Transcript) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Elements of Story: Field Notes on Nonfiction Writing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Educating by Story-Telling: Showing the Value of Story-Telling as an Educational Tool for the Use of All Workers with Children Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsType Away Writer's Block: Laptop Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStorytelling Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAt The Crossing Of Seven Winds Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Poet's Glossary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wall Street Journal Guide to Business Style and Us Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Agnes Grey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Art of the Short Story: 100 Classic Masterpieces Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Works of Plato Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Naked Writer: A Comprehensive Writing Style Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Short Stories For You
The Stories of Ray Bradbury Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Little Birds: Erotica Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird: Stories Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Jackal, Jackal: Tales of the Dark and Fantastic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Good Man Is Hard To Find And Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ficciones Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Skeleton Crew Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5100 Years of the Best American Short Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warrior of the Light: A Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Things They Carried Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Two Scorched Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Tower: And Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lovecraft Country: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Explicit Content: Red Hot Stories of Hardcore Erotica Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unfinished Tales Of Numenor And Middle-Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sex and Erotic: Hard, hot and sexy Short-Stories for Adults Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas: A Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don Quixote Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Selected Short Stories Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Four Past Midnight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for How to Tell a Story and Other Essays
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
How to Tell a Story and Other Essays - Mark Twain
HOW TO TELL A STORY
The Humorous Story an American Development.—Its Difference
from Comic and Witty Stories.
I do not claim that I can tell a story as it ought to be told. I only claim to know how a story ought to be told, for I have been almost daily in the company of the most expert story-tellers for many years.
There are several kinds of stories, but only one difficult kind—the humorous. I will talk mainly about that one. The humorous story is American, the comic story is English, the witty story is French. The humorous story depends for its effect upon the manner of the telling; the comic story and the witty story upon the matter.
The humorous story may be spun out to great length, and may wander around as much as it pleases, and arrive nowhere in particular; but the comic and witty stories must be brief and end with a point. The humorous story bubbles gently along, the others burst.
The humorous story is strictly a work of art—high and delicate art—and only an artist can tell it; but no art is necessary in telling the comic and the witty story; anybody can do it. The art of telling a humorous story—understand, I mean by word of mouth, not print—was created in America, and has remained at home.
The humorous story is told gravely; the teller does his best to conceal the fact that he even dimly suspects that there is anything funny about it; but the teller of the comic story tells you beforehand that it is one of the funniest things he has ever heard, then tells it with eager delight, and is the first person to laugh when he gets through. And sometimes, if he has had good success, he is so glad and happy that he will repeat the nub
of it and glance around from face to face, collecting applause, and then repeat it again. It is a pathetic thing to see.
Very often, of course, the rambling and disjointed humorous story finishes with a nub, point, snapper, or whatever you like to call it. Then the listener must be alert, for in many cases