Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-02-02
TROLL0PE,s METHOD.
The Process Of Novel WRITING.

The work did, says Anthony Trollope In his
autobiography, during the 12 yeass-from 1859
to lS7l-was certainly very great. / feel conf
dent that In amount no other writer contributed
SO much during that time to English literature.
Over and above my novels, wrote political ar
ticies, CRITICAL social and sporting articles, for
periodicals, without number. did the work of
a surveyor of the general post Office, and SO did
it as to give the authorities of the department
not the slightest pretext for fault finding.
hunted always at least twice a week. Twas
frequent In the whist-room of the Garrick.
lived much In society in London, and was
mace mao. happy oy the presence Of many friends at
Waitham Cross. In addition to this we always
spent SIX weeks, at least, out Of England. Few
men, think, ever lived q fuller life. aud I at
tribute the power Of doing this altogether to
the virtue of early hours. 1t was my practice
to DC at my table every morning at $50, and it
was also my practice to allow myself no mercy.
An Old groom, whose business 1t was to call me,
and to whom paid f5 year extra for the duty,
allowed himself no mercy. During all those
years at Waltham Cross he was never once late
with the coffee which 1t was his duty to bring
me; do not know that l ought not to feel
that owe more to him than to any one
else for the success l have had. By beginning
at that hour could complete my literary work
before dressed for breakfast. All those,
think. who have lived as literary men-working
mat three hours day will produce as much as
man ought to write. But then he should
80 have trained himself that he shall be able to
work continuously during these three hours; 80
have tutored his mind that it shall not be neces-
sary for him to sit nibbling his pen and gazing
at the wall before him, till he shall have
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 become little lenient to myself-to
write with my watch before me, and to require
from myself $50 words every quarter Of an hour.
! have found that the $50 words have been
forthcoming as regularly as my watch went.
But my three hours were not devoted entirely
to writing. always began my task By reading
the work of the day before, an operation
which would take me half an hour, and which
consisted chiefly in Weighing with my ear the
sound OF the words and phrases. I would
strongly recommend this practice to all tyros
In writing. That their work should be read
after it has been written is a matter of course;
that it should be read twice, at least, before 1t
goesto the printers take to be q matter of
course. Butby reading what he has last written,
before he recommences his task, the writer will
catch the tone and spirit of what he is then
saying and will avoid the fault OF seeming to be
unlike himself. This division Of time allowed
me to produce over ten pages of an ordinary
novel volume day, and, il kept up through ten
months, would have given as its results three
novels OF three volumes each in the year-the
precise amount which so greatly acerbated the
publisher In Paternoster row. and which must,
at any rate, be felt to be quite as much as the
novei-readers Of the world can want from the
hands Of one man