The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-07-18
Methods of Literary Work.

VI
 The public is always interested in the methods of work adopted by literary men. Occasionally Dickens talked con. hdenially to his readers, telling them h. V he " set about" his work. and how during the hard labor of com position, ideas fiirted with him, just keeping out of his way, slipping here and there like a humming bird. This is not the exact language which Mir. Dickens employed. but it suits my purpose just as we'll and have no doubt, the great novelist, were he living. would accept my statement Trollope was the most systematic of all the English novelists. Sitting down to his desk he would take out his watch and time himself 1t was his custom to write so many words per minute Should an idea caper around beyond his reach thus causing him to fall behind his usu | number of words he would hastily shu, out the idea and put down the words anyway. By following this vigorous method he was, during long !;se, en- abled 10 write c great many words While looking over one of his books the other day found 1t to be almost full of words. but remembering how earnestly he had worked, was not ID the least sur prised.
 Thackeray had no literary system. He only wrote when he felt like 1t. Some times he could not even write, "P ease send three bottles of wine and charge them to me" Then, az ain, he could sit do~n and write 90 rapidly that he would keep three sheets in the wind all the time While he was editor of an Agricultur al publicstion-the Cornhiil MaSagine. if 1 mistake not-he never succeeded in get ting copy enough ahead for more than i've issues. In thus negligence he fell far behind some of our magazine editors. They always have bundles of copy on handsMy grandfather, when be was quite young man, wrote an article for 2 leading American ulagsz' ne. The other day letter came for hum, and. as he died many years ago, took the lib- erty of opening the communication. The letter read as follows:
 DEAR SIR-We have accepted your article, " The Romance of a Grlncstone or, the Chicken That Had Two Heads. j." and we are plea cd 10 inform you that it will appear a, an early day.
 George Eliot was hard worker. and like many gifted writers she was often tempted to burn at night the lines she had written during the day.
 Carlyle was similarly tempted and it is to be regreted that the great growier, in many instances, did not carry out the de sign. George Eliot, like Q leen Anne, liked to work in the shade of the trees. | will here remark that l know nothing of Queen Anne's habits. It was Elizabeth wno was iond of working in the shade :, but as this fact has been So often used by writers who are struggling for reputation, l disregard Elizabeth and take up Anne l would say more of George El,ot's methods, but the truth is l don't kno~ anything to say-that is, l cannot add anything to the elaborate memoirs re- gently brought out by man who knew the novelist quite intimately
 Wilkie Coikps makes the skeleton of a novel and then proceeds to put the flesh on it He is the greatest plotter that ever lived. He has never created truly thrilling pitfalls into which the reader lunges- hear that he eats morphine. do not know of a more unhealthful dlet Corn bread and salt pork form an annoy ing diet, but morphine is much worse. 1 have a friend who wanted to write a dreamy article. He took dose or mor- phine and went to work. The article was never finished. Collins has doubtless done his best work. If he should. in the future, do better work than he has done in the past, can very easily revise this assertion.