The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1883-12-22
WRITING A NOVEL.
The Work of a Noted Author Of
Fiction, and His Division
of Labor.


Autobiography OF Anthony T~rollope.l
The work / did during the twelve years,
from 1853 to 1871, was certainly very great.
| feel confident In amount no other writer
contributed 50 much during that time TO
English literature. Over and above my
bowels, L wrote political articles, critical,
social and sporting articles for periodicals,
Without number. 1 did the work of a SUP
yeyor Of the general postofice, and so did It
n to give the authorities of the department
10 slightest pretext for fault finding. /
hunted always a~t-le,ust twice a week. / was
frequent in the whist-room at the Garrick. l
lived much in society in London and was
made happy by the presence of my friends at
Waltham Gross. In addition to this we always
pent six weeks. at least, out Of England.
Few men, l think, ever lived a fuller hfe, and
I attribute :he PoTyer Of doing this altogether
% tho virtue Of early hours.
1t was my practice to he at my table every
morning at5:30, and 1t was also my practice
20 allow myself no mercy. An old groom,
whose busincs it was TO call me, and to
whom / paid e5 a year extra for the duty,
allowed himself no mercy. During all those
years at Walthan Gross ne was never once
late with the coffee which it was his duty to
bring me. do not know that l ought not to
feel that l owe more to him than to any one
else for the success / have bad. By begin
ming at that hour I could complete my liter
AIRY work before 1 dressed for breakfast All
those, | think, who have lived as literary
Woodworking daily at literary work-wil
agree with me that three hours a day win
produce as much as a man ought to write.
But then he should so have trained himself
that he should be able TO work continuously
during those three hours; SO have tutored his
mind that 1t shall not be necessary for him to
aft pihhlfnU hfa NAN anA -a-f,,x ~ tho ,-.u
before him, till he shall nave found the words
with which he wants to express his ideas. 1t
had at this time become my custom-and It
still Is my custom, though OF late / have be-
coma q little lenient 10 myself-to wtto with
my watch before me-, and to require from
myself $50 words every quarter Of an hour.
l have d that the $50 words have been
forthcoming as regularly as my watch went.
But my three hours were not devoted en-
tuely TO writing. 1 always began my task
BY reading the work of the day before, an
operation which would take mo half an hour,
and which consisted chioAy in Weighing with
my ear the sound Of the words and phrases
l would strongly recommend this practice to
all tyres in writing. That their work should
10 read after 1t has been written is q matter
Of course; that it should be read twice, at
least, before 1t goes to the printsrs, I take to
be a matter Of oourSa, But by reading what
he has last written, before he recomInsnces
his task, the writer will catch the tone and
spirit Of what he is then saying, n will
nyoid the fault Of seeming to be unlike him
self. The division Of time allowed mo TO
produce over ton pages Of an ordinary novel
volume a day, and, If kept up through ten
months, would ave given as its results three
novels OF three volumes each In q year-the
precise amount which so greatly aoerbated
the publisher In Paternoster row, and which
must, at any rate, DO felt to be quite as
much as the novel readers Of the world can
want from the hands Of one man.