The Ocean Agency

The series continues with what SEO companies can learn from the man I consider the cornerstone of almost all great writing (since his time): Mr. Samuel Clemens, better known to the literary world as Mark Twain.

Known by Faulkner as the “father of American literature,” Twain offers some great advice on writing (or, more specifically, not writing adjectives), the creative process and editing.

In his letters to other writers, Twain would express his deep-seated distaste for adjectival writing:

“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.“

And:

“You need not expect to get your book right the first time. Go to work and revamp or rewrite it. God only exhibits his thunder and lightning at intervals, and so they always command attention. These are God’s adjectives. You thunder and lightning too much; the reader ceases to get under the bed, by and by.”

Don’t Bog Down the Reader

These two quotes are great advice for SEO copywriters. Most of us should know by now that unnecessary adjectives do nothing more than distract the reader and bog down either a narrative or an article for SEO or marketing purposes. Just take a look at this example:

Exhibit A:

The precisely meticulous, some would even say persnickety, and attractive writers at the first-class, prime SEO Company, The Ocean Agency, always craft their fantastically readable articles with a precise eye and a informed head which help you with the stubborn Google rankings!

Exhibit B:

The writers at The Ocean Agency write precise articles that help you rise in Google’s rankings.

While we writers over here at The Ocean Agency are certainly an attractive bunch, it’s not really necessary to say so (along with everything else in that top sentence). The adjectives are like chains on a man walking the plank: they sink the sentence.

When to Write

Twain also offers a bit of advice when to write an article:

“The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is that you really want to say.”

While we don’t always have the time to write several drafts, especially when trying to get a client to rise in the rankings, there is always time for heavy editing. You really don’t start writing until you’ve typed out everything you’re thinking on a subject. It’s good to type out all the information you’ve discovered on a certain subject and then go back and shape it.

Writing is like cleaning your room: you sort everything into piles, then you put it away. At least, that’s how I clean my room. And it’s how I write now, and it makes things go quicker and come out cleaner.

Finally, Twain offers some of my favorite advice on the (arguably) worst word in the English language: Very.

“Subsitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”

Never use the word “very.” There is no reason. It adds nothing. It’s like putting mayonnaise on a chicken salad sandwich.

After all, if we’re to trust anyone, it may as well be Mark Twain.

The author series takes the wise words of the best writers of the past century and looks at them through the eyes of an SEO copywriter. If we are to learn, it should be from the best. And thus we shall.