The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1886-06-11
THE HOME OF FICrIoH-
8oEeaIs Says IT II 10 be Ame<4o.
How the Novelist worka


when they fan from their own hps,
possess q AngulaT charm for all classes of
readers; benca our excuse for giving Ghe |
following report OF an Interview with
William Dean Howells, the novelist;
fDo you work thirteen hours dag. as
Balzac was reported TO have eones''
HNo. do about three hours mental
labor each dRy-sctual writing. / begin
writing ate O'Clock In the morning and
quit at noon. But after that go about
thinking It all over, and when Cross the
street keep one eye on my character and
the other on the cabs once thoUght
novel writing would come easy. that ]
could SIT down and a beautiful book
would lust floV spontaneously from my
pen, That was foolish thought and an
egregious error, OF course, was young
man then and INDUCED IN dreams and idle
tancies. The first novel wrote I worked
AhI fattered myself that 1 would not
have to labor at fiction any more after tho
hrst-that was the Rrduous task, and al
Else would come naturally. I know now
that novel writing Is always AbOF-hard,
unreInittipg work 1t seems that each
book write / work as hard, If not harder
than ON my first Success, l think, de-
pends ON labor Young writers beginning
doubtless live on the hattering idea that at
a certain time It viii be simply play TO put
together a novel They soon discard that
notion Then, too, many imagine that q
]
fction-wEiting. That Is q mistake
when 1 was a young man was
offered the position of city editor on a
Cincinnati paper 1 have regretted TO
this day that 1 did not sccept IL. Il
would have given me great schooling in
Studying human nature Besides, /
! should have beea taught many things in
general and practical Wy that books
never can teach Instead ! went to my
books. When l was S+ years old Prest-
dent Lincoln appointed me Consul at
/ Venice 1 remained there for number
of years That is why lay many of my
( scenes in Italy. have seen and studied
/ the country"
Some cities aIlege that you are on the
wrong tack-that you have scarcely any
plot and break all the rules Of novel
writing"
'I have no special answer 20 make to
such criticisms. I write q novel 10 suit
myself and do not proceed by rule and
model My plan Is 20 work out every
thing n a natural way. 1 Try not -
draw improbable characters 4 novel
writer should have no model but strive
for probability and reality. The old
romantic schools last dying out, and with
II the cOmphcGL-i and often impossible
plots. The gr.Ese, the u2Oat, the ancient
castle, are relegated to legendary writer's
and have no part and place ia our ad-
vanced and matter-of-facS days The
great romancers are dead, and only q few
are left In England to produce that unreal
style Of f1otion.p
nIs England behind other countries In
noveLwritingF'
Eyes for there the romant&c school stiu
hourishes to some extent OF course,
there are some exceptionally great and
realistic writers in England At the head
OF the list placa Thomas Hardy, whose
novels l read with absorbing interest /
-
: Blacks novels, but 1 know theiE charm
don't know why, but England is for be
hind the countries on the Continent
Russia has the greatsss nOvelwr4tars,
They stand ahead of all others In the
world, Whyf They are natural You
read rOlstOi or TouTguenie1I, especially
the former. and you bacOme al
once enchained by hts realism TOlstOts
story, Anna Kessenina~ Is not only greas
but carries with Il the CONVICTION that Il
Is true and really happened. Those writ
ers have NO models no rules TO go by
they seem 70 proceed by the rub Of their
feeling and Judgment and what they see
and know. la france the old sensational
school has long given way to the natural
When Victor Hugo died the death kneN
, OF the romantic school was sounded Emile
Zoia, Daudet and Others are rapidly bring
ing credit to France by their natural
methods. In Italy and Spain the class o:
method They have caught J-se spirit OF
p truth, and write what was and Is and
: may be, and not what was not, and Is not
: and never can be"
'How Is America as a home for tbs
realistic sChoOlP'
! The United States Is perhaps, des
! tined to outstrip the other countries II
= realistic novel-writiD9 True, we haven't
] the old history, the castles and knights
all prolific themes for the iRaginativ,
D writer, and we don't want them; bu
{ we have moro novel phases OF life anC
: character TO study and depict than an
q other country on the face of the globe
i Our ipstitiOns, too, are different anI
}. everything is favorable 70 the production
Of a class Of original flction-writers- W
j have some already thst are eminent Il
/. their line Geo W. Cable, Miss Murfree
i g. 2. Lathrop and others. OF course, W
{ have some who stin are guided by tn
L old methods Those who succeed, In m
u opinion. viii have to study out character
: and every section of this ConntFy has
local peculiarly that fiction can portray
q Now I have nothing TO do with day b'
h fore yesterday; 1 deal with the preseu
|; and fear to trcspass on the morrow.
u came from Ohio l have not written any
u thing about the people and their Oharat
, teristics yet l have lively recoilecuo
p of everything connected with my earl
IA IA life there. Don't ask me about II
- natural school IN AIneTlCAi II Fehlly e
- lists and Is the predominating fiction"
%Some criticisms have been passed o
your last novel, Indian Summer, tha
r your style Is somewhat changed"
- ..Yea and what makes il more amusin
Q. Is that Indian Summer Is not my la,
g novel Iwrote II before did the Rise an
9. Fall of Silas Lapham. IL was not pu
y lished owing TO certain editorial exigencie
70 I laid the scene In Florence instead
here, but the characters were American
10 made the grouping at Florepce becaui
49, it Is fact that so many Americans OF q
4 sorts meet there, and there was nothir
= unusual about II could have placed Il
~ ~ yhols action IN America for that matte
Il Is unnecessary for writers 20 go cut
= America TO get character and msteri
for a novel The material Is at our We
- feet, and requires natural gift and practi
Mt 10 put into reality and artistic shape. q
q more practice a writer has the better"
pe EducRqon AbFOa6,
if Germany is the least rliterate scunfxy