Monongalia mirror. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1855, 1852-05-01
miscellaneous.
HINTS TO YOUNG WRITER'S.
BY a Grcy-IIaired Man.

no evidence Of a smart writer. If
storm is rolling up in the western hor
izon, cndeavor to say SO. Do not be
gin by stating that the sable folds o
the distant clouds portcnd the gather
ing Of an awful desolation Throughout
the boundless expanse of ether ant
over the widely undulating plains o
the mundane sphere below. Thi
may sound musical enough to You
ear, because of the superAuity of ad
.jcctives; but it will engender disgus
in the mind of every reader who has
the least spark of literary taste.
A writer was once describing the
glories of sunset. He commenced
somewhat as follows: And now the
golden charioter of day began to close
his bright career adown the crimson
curtains of the hosperiau world
Anon, vcrmillion beauties burst upon
the wondering view of the anxious be.
holder, till the deeper shades of the
darkling night forewarned the ap-
proach of heavier gloom. This is a
fair specimen of the style of a certain
class of writers, who have no concep-
ton of the properties of language.
Could any thing be more ridiculous :
or could any thing more efectually
prove the incompetency Of such indl-
viduals to write, with even tolerable
precision, FIVE solitary sentences in
the English languagcl An orator
was about closing long. dull speech,
when tho following sentence escaped
his lips: THUS cursorily having con-
summatcd my exordium, and been
fully elaborate in my exegcsis. shall
wildly approximate to an end"
AroiI lie scrvile imitation Of any
author mhatcrcr. In the effort to copy
the excellencics of great man you
will be almost certain to copy his de-
fects. Alexander pretended to great
admiration of Achilles, and said he
followed the footsteps Of his master !;
but the only thing Of which he copied
was his tying to his chariot. wheels
some poor captive, and dragging him
through the streets of the city. Pla.
ciarism leads into very bad habits
1t makes one rely upon somebody
else when he ought to be relying on
himself. Its tendency invariably is
to hamper genius and destroy origi-
nality Of thought. Better altogether
to have a few things of your own,
though only possessed Of moderate
merit, than to shine in borrowed
plumes, that must eventually betray
you. Tho man who is desirous Of
making straight line with his plow
across field, will receive very little
benefit in his operations by looking
backward and watching the operations
of another man. And the writer,
Young or old, who must always have
an eye to the fine flashes and pert
phrases of some great author, will
ind, in his efforts to copy these, that
he is wandering from the right path,
and injuring seriously his own mind.
Keep clear, then. of imitation. Read
the best authors, and study carefully
their style. Compare your own style
with theirs; sec where your defect
lies. Remedy this when possible !;
but never attempt a redemption of
your character by plundering and ap-
propriatlng TO your own use things
which have no relation to you, and
which are the private property of
some one who is lily qualified to lose
thcin.
Be caretMm your selection efa sub.
j;ect. There are some things which
you may he able to discuss with toler-
able success, and there are other
things which You can no more render
interesting than you can draw tire
from the moon. See that you do not
fall into the error of imagining your
self qualified to write on any thing
and every thing, and thus rendcryour-
self ridiculous in the eyes of all your
readers. That is a fine sentimhnt of
Horace, translated by Francis, which
every one attempting to be a writer
should observe
Examine well, yc writer's. weigh with
care,
Wha, suits your genius, what your strength
can bear
As n further explanation of my mean'
ing. would say, never write on q
suLjec, which involves metaphysical
principles in its discussion, and which
neither Yourself nor your readers will
be likely to well understand. Some
times II youth of fair talent, but limit
cd experience and education, assumes
the prorogativc Of writing on topic
of wide aud almost universal extent
literature, forinstancc-and expects,
because of fits general nature, to lind
great ease in writing upon it. Such