| Show to tell to be successful as a writer one must have something to tell and that something should be the result of either observation studious research or deliberate rejection for my part I 1 believe in the right of the individual provided he has been properly trained and uses honest judgment in the matter to form his own stylo of writing to obey no dictates but ahli own in grammar or defy the so called classics to invent new words to revive old ones to re intro duce the obsolete in a word to obey only his own impressions go straight ahead and say what ho likes but he must tell us something and tell it so that we can get at what he is saying without wasting valuable brain matter in trying to absorb what after all may be of no more value than an ink blot if a man be a great observer he should impart the result of his observations a way that without going to his expense of brain money and time may see what he has seen and enjo yit equally with him if he does not make me see what ho has asen then I 1 may refuse to believe that he has seen anything and may brand him as an impostor why I 1 ho has taken my time and with it my two cents or my two dollars or whatever it may have coat me to get what he has watten have something to tell come with me inside the nearest secondhand second hand bookstore look at that accumulation in the corner there those are volumes histories would make you weep they are the products oi genius md in their leaves are wrapped the the hopes and the ambitions of as good and true workers as over band led a penholder think of alio days and nights spent in writing those now worthless books of the brains money and time thrown anway people would not read them booksellers could not sall them there they lie now like rubbish destined for the ash head see the money grants book brought you dont find it in that big pile why because people are reading it booksellers aro selling it uy mou every month grant had something to tell and ao this famous military chieftain who was supposed to kneir as little about or rhetoric aa he did about the secrets of the toiler wrote a book brought not only money but praises from all sides now what was the tromble with those their bearta into yonder neglected pile the answer is the authors of those dusty boole had nothing to tell if abey haa they know not bow to nake people badoy yel f stand it perhaps they tried to teh love stories when they nover been in love maybe they dealt with scenes in siam when they had never been outside of boston let us look at one of these forgotten works it is named tho bankers bride it pretends to deal with love and wealth poverty and misery it shows as scenes at bar harbor new york paris it talks of lovers bankers gillians vil lians detectives this book was put upon the market only six months ago you have been at bar harbor Is bar harbor anything like that did you ever see any surf at bar harbor yon are a new yorker how does this chapter strike you you have been in paris do the parisian scenes seem accurate who wrote the book why a lovely maid in who has not yet made her first trip to boston take another book it is called the fair and is written by a bostonian who spent a week in once and who tries now to tell you all about its people their habits and their dialect either of those writers has style enough and words enough that is not the trouble but why the maiden tell something about she had nothing to tell about new york or bar harbor she knew nothing about them aly did not the bostonian tell us something about the hub he knew as much of as he does of the atmosphere of the moon I 1 will not ask you to read these volumes through just now but when you have time if you ever have look at ache characters in these books I 1 ivo you byword you will find them esh less bloodless boneless in a word nothings there is not a single somebody in either book tho air inath bubbles as the water hath and obese are of them i now did either the author of the bankers brido or the author of the fair maid of know any thing about anybody ten to one they did but supposing they did nota havo anything to tell are they to blame yes natu re is free to all use your eyes man pluck a buttercup from its stem there is no charge you are not stealing study it observe observe use your ears use all your five senses and then let then impressions play upon your brain till tho true image Nature of comes out then wait dont rush into print do not try to force the process take the time that is al ways necessary for perfection the artist who a lifelike life like picture must have used his five senses why a man who writes a book do likewise many do but many who do not fail simply because they have not studied nature have no communion with her and therefore have nothing to tell E F burds surds in the writer |
