Examiner

Gene Bowker

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Gene Bowker has been a fan of Mark Twain ever since dreaming of being a pirate on Tom Sawyer Island at Disneyland as a child. Gene strives today to share the wit and wisdom of Mark Twain with new generations through his blog Mark Twain Today and on Twitter @TwainToday.

Truth versus fiction - a Writers Wednesday post

It's no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense. - Mark Twain Wednesdays on Twitter are known for being #WritersWednesdays or #WW as it is frequently abbreviated in the #hashtag world. #WW is a chance for amateur...
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Is moderation overrated?

Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough. - Mark Twain Mark Twain was not known for moderation. He drank and he smoked. When he promised to cut back smoking to one cigar a day, he had special huge cigars made to smoke. He lived life fully each...
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What a good thing Adam had!

What a good thing Adam had. When he said a good thing he knew nobody had said it before. - Mark Twain Mark Twain had a good thing going too. He has been credited with many quotes that he said, and also many quotes that he never said. However, many...
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Mark Twain on the spirit of invention

A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds. - Mark Twain You never know where the next killer idea will come from. Many of today's products were invented by people in the garages or tinkering in the basement at night. Smart...
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Mark Twain gives advice on entitlement

Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first. - Mark Twain Many people tend to think that they are owed something by the Government or society in general. They can easily be identified by...
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Mark Twain in the news: interview tips and memoir excerpts

This week's Twain News Wrap-up: As Mark Twain said, "No one likes to be interviewed, and yet no one likes to say no. For interviewers are courteous and gentle-mannered, even when they come to destroy. - Mark Twain 1890" The Weekend...
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Mark Twain even had a riverboat named after him

The Countess de Rochambeau christened the St. Louis harbor-boat 'Mark Twain' in honor of Mr. Clemens, June 6, 1902. Just  before the luncheon he acted as pilot."Lower away lead!" boomed out the voice of the pilot. "Mark twain,...
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Little conveniences - what is important to you?

It is the little conveniences that make the real comfort of life.Mark Twain in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court I was watching a show recently on the National Geographic Channel about a man who tried to spend three months alone in the...
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Mark Twain on wine versus water

My books are like water; those of the great geniuses are wine. (Fortunately) everybody drinks water - Mark Twain Mark Twain understood his buying public as many great authors do. He realized the style of book, speech, essay that would sell and...
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Mark Twain on writing: Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't

Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't - Mark Twain Unless you are writing an action novel or something that intentionally defies the idea of reality, part of the art of writing is that the events have to be plausible if not...
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