Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-31
HOW A NOVELIST WORKS.
William Blacks Method of Building a RI.
nance

| william Blacks Method of Building. a Ro
nance
William Black, the British novelist
SAYS writer in EG'per's MAGAZINE
might pass for a member of any pro-
fesslon except the clerical. or for an
ordinary gentleman of the time. until
you came to know him well enough to
talk to him Familiarity, and then YOU
would find, as you always do in men
! who have made q mark on the current
history of the times, in whatever direc-
ton, something extraordinary in his
talk and IN his appearance. You would
hrst be impressed with the bead-like
brightness of his eyes, and it's steadfast-
ness; and then you would probably be
struck with the fact, if you were travel
lng with him. that every bit OF natural
Phenomena going On around him is an
OBJECT OF constant interest to him: that
he knows the names of the birds that
you see and their habits; if you are at
a seaport, that he knows every class Of
craft. and the name Of every rope in its
rigging; II you are talking of art. or
literature. or politics, that he has
strong. weIl-formed opinions, and that
ne IS perfectly frank and open in ex-
pressing them; and, moreover, that if
you do not want to talk. he can be as
silent as an oyster.
1t IS II these moments of Quiet that
Black IS busiest. His muse is reflective.
lie INDUCES in long periods OF
incubation. At these times the novelist
IS possessed not by one spirit. but bv
many, by spirits both good and evil {:
and not only by spirits but by plots.
and not only 10y plots, but by words
and sentences.
NV method of work." he says, in an
swer to my inquiries, els, I think. a
pernlcious one, and 1 should be verv
sorry to have it mentioned if it were to
lead any young aspirants for literary
fame to adopt it. Every man has his
own way of working, and mine. I re-
peat. is most Objectionable, and way I
warn any young man to avoid. From
now until October in every year write
nothing, hardly put pen to paper except
III the way of a private letter or to make
an occasional note. But I am at work
on my next novel. I put it into COM
plete shape, even to the construction of
some OF my sentences. I often keep
these IN my mind for two and three
months. 1 am thus always ahead of nv
writing to the last. OF course the
method has this advantage: You can
work in any incidents or circumstances
occurring in the interval that nav suit
You, and you get familiar with your
characters; they become, as it were.
part Of your family, part of your daily
lie, which to me seems the awful part
OF the business; working in this way
you have your story continually on your
shoulders, a Sindbad's Old Man of the
Sea-"
We are at the novelist's chambers
overlooking the Thames embankment
It is April. The afternoon is warm. the
atmosphere gray. Sitting with his back
to the window, my host turns now and
then as if to let his thoughts wander
down the river with the vessels that pass
to and fro-now numbering barge, now
penny steamer. now a tug towing along
sort of aquatic procession.
DO you make summary or precis
OF your story before you begin to
write?"
Not on paper"
DO you make notes of scenery, To-
calities, atmospheric efects?"
Eyes, often very elaborate and care
ful notes. and especially ia regard to at
mospheric surroundings. If one does
lot correctly and completely frame
character or an incident, with all the
circumstances of the time and place,
one gets only blurred page. For ex-
ample, one may say, 1t was beautiful
day But what kind of beautiful day?
It must be described so that the picture
shall be truthful and finished. Every
human being in real-life has a back
ground, and must have in a novel if the
story is to appear real to the reader"
There Is nothing more charming in
fiction OF in easy-writing, I feel i'm
PEELED to add, than the artistic use of
natural effects in the illustration of
character, and the development and ex-
hibition Of incidents, tragic OF other
wise; the pathos that may belong to a
gray morning or an evening mist, when
woven In with a sad thought or ten
der episode, must have often touched
you who are so great student of ma
lures moods?"