West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1888-07-19


Wilkie Collins is the novelist Of con-
struction; and plot and character and
incident are always the development
from central dramatio-idea, "the pivot
on which the story turns, as in "The
Woman in White, the substitution OF
one woman for another in a lunatic
asylum. and IN The Moonstone," the
projection of an Eastern jewel with
the superstitious devotion of its atten-
dant priests, into modern civilized soci-
ets This idea settled, he weayes his
plot, selects his characters, builds up
his incidents, all with reference 10 it,
and above all things writes one contin-
uous story, and not two or three alter
mating stories in one. This makes him
Indifferent to methods of publication,
for rs he means to keep mp an un6ag-
ging interest throughout, he expects to
hold his reader, whether 10 sit up all
night 10 finish the volume, as many
of them complain TO him, or from week
10 week or month to month. His first
aim and chief difficulty is to begin ut
the beginning" so that the story tells
itself straight on TO it's predetermined
end without barking back, and he
thinks many novelists who aim TO be
artists much too careless about this.
Sometimes he has written out the lat
ter part of his book first and the first
almost last of all, with this In view
He never transfers real people, and sell
dom real places or incidents, TO his
books; yet he has found that no one
can invent name, and new book
often brings protests from more than
-. 81
copies or misleading perversions of
what they suppose TO be his originals.
One outraged Frenchman, who saw
himself in aparticularly unpleasant VIII
lain, kindly offered, if Mr.. Collins
would come TO Paris, TO meet him with
pistols and seconds at the care.
Mr. Collins never spares himself, and
takes minute pains with the details of
his work. Most of his novels, by the
time they reach publication in book
form, have been written or revised
seven times: the first writing; revis-
ion next day before the autograph man
uscIipt goes TO copyist; a second and
third revision upon the copyists manu-
script; fourth on the proof; fifth on
the printers revise" final revision
after the story has appeared in n peri
odical as it is made ready for book
II is this hard writing which makes
easy reading and good English. Now
adays he restricts himself TO four hours,
and those of daylight, but in former
times he wrote almost continuously,
spurred on by the eager delight of the
work itself. When he began, his favor
lite hours were from midnight to just
before dawn; but ghosts cured him
of that They used to accompany him
upstairs as he gave up work for bed,
and particular green woman with tusk
teeth stood at the turn, and said good
night by biting piece out of his shout
der. He gave them good radiance by
revolutionizing his hours of work, and
now the latter part of the day is apt TO
be given up to novel reading, for he is
catholic customer for his fellow-crafts-
mems wares, enjoying them as a reader
and rs a critic, Believing that n novel
should be, first of ALL story he thinks
and wonders that his countrymen can
call the author of the Misunderstanding
stories and sea tales "A writer for boys. Z"
His aim has been 10 follow any success
full story with one of entirely different
kind and scene, as when mo Name"
followed "The Woman in White The
success of these books was indeed
enormous, On one of them he was
paid $4,000 for book form alone,
and the next, which proved to he
"Armadale," was secured by rival
publisher, who offered Go, 900 before the
book was outlined or line written
II. II. Blocker. ilI HdrDeT's Maodzine.