Writing advice from Mark Twain...

A tale shall accomplish something and arrive somewhere.
The episodes of a tale shall be necessary parts of the tale, and shall help develop it.
The personages in a tale shall be alive, except in the case of corpses, and always the reader shall be able to tell the corpses from the others.

Tricia’s Thoughts:
I have a confession to make. I have dozens of books on writing. (More than I ever have time to read). But when I read advice like Twain’s it helps me realize that sometimes it’s necessary to just go back to basics. These first three points of advice remind me of the same things I hear at writer’s conferences. “Stick to the story question.” “Cut out every scene or paragraph that doesn’t progress the story.” And “Make your characters come alive.” So as I delve into my next novel, it’s back to basics for me.