Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR per G.G., CHIEF OF ORDNANCE
Interpretation
Mark Twain humorously warns against overanalyzing narratives.
In this quote, Mark Twain satirically suggests that those who seek deeper meanings, morals, or plots in his stories should expect dire consequences. It reflects his belief in the absurdity of searching for structure or lessons where none were intended, emphasizing the playful and often nonsensical nature of storytelling.
In practice
This quote could be used to lighten the mood in a writing workshop by emphasizing the joy of creativity over the weight of critique.
Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
The easy part of being an artist is figuring out the message that everyone else is ready to hear. The hard part is waiting for the proper lull to make the announcement.
You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns.
To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
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Comedy has to be based on truth. You take the truth and you put a little curlicue at the end.
If I blow my nose, it gets written all over the world.
You have two choices, two paths to take as a comedian. You can tackle the difficult subjects and be harsh about it, be brash, be abrasive. But adding hatred to racism is not going to help everybody. So I like to have fun around it.
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