Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-11-12
TIE TINE TO WRITE.
THE GREAT DIFFERENCE OF OPINION
AMONG PEN CRAFTSMEN.

No Best Time for Writing Poetry-what
Noted Prose Writers Have to Say on the
subject-Prominent Exampies-Disturb-
ing Environments. 4
When can man do his best writing with
easel Or, in other words, what time is the
best for good writinga
heard, recently, this latter question talked
over by some pen craftsmen, and their con-
versation brought out great differences of
opinion. One, a writer of fiction said that
the best time for writing was when you
burned the midnight oil Another main
tanned that the best time was in the early
morning hours when the sun ''ariseth in his
majesty" While a third, a writer of poetry,
threw out the suggestion that you can write
easily and rapidly when you feel most like
IT." Thus the question becomes one that will
DO answered in a different way by different
kinds of writers
Obviously there is there can be- no best
time for writing poetry. If the poets them
selves are to be believed the times for com
| posing rhyme like angels visits, are few and
| far between. When Lord Byron wrote is a
mystery, for no one ever found him writing
Yet we know that while he spent the day in
| pleasure, he passed the night in work. Lord
| TeDnyson regards the morning as the best
| time for poetic thought, and hence we find
him in early morn weaving rhyme over his
| pipe of tobacco Longfeluw was an early
riser, and we are told in recent biography
| Of the poet that he found the morning the
best time for solid work There is q tradi-
tion-and it is only tradition-that Edgar
Allan Poe could dash off flowing verse at al
most any hour of the day or night. Indeed,
Poe himself gave color to this notion, but,
unhappy master of the raven as he was, he
kept lonely vigils far into the night, polish
ing and filing his exquisite verse. In truth,
as many, il not more, examples could be
given of poets whose verse ''smelt of the
midnight oil" as could be given of rhyme
breathing the freshness of dewy morn. For
with some writers the dead of night is the
noon of thought.
When we come to prose writers there is
the same difference as to the time for writ
ing. 1.-THE creator part of an authors time,
said DR. johnson, lis spent in reading. v
Thus, Lord Macaulay spent the entire morn,
ing in reading, and then when the time came
he put his thoughts on paper Few readers
Of Trevelyans Life of Macaulay will forget
the picture of the industrious historian nous
ing among the manuscripts in the British
museum morning after morning, cleaning
the facts for his immortal history Witt
writers of fiction the ease is different. Or
to quote DR.. johnson again, When a mai
writes from his own mind he writes rapidly.
Although Balzac wrote rapidly from his owl
| mind bA f,rnnh TINA in raolipr
found the night the best time for writing
and many cup of black coffee he drank il
order to keep his faculties on the alert-ol
edge, as he called it.
OF English novelists, Wilkie Collins Is
prominent example of an author who foun,
the midnight hours the best time for writing
David Christie Murray is another volumin
Gus novelist who often labors so far into tn
, night that he often ''sees halberdier wit
an ak dressed in black and red,n comm
towards him in threatening fashion. O
, the other hand, Anthony Trollope set abou
, his work in methodical way. He sat dow
every morning to his desk, rain or shine, a
, $50, 81 allowed myself he plaintivel
says, mo mercy. l was called by my groom
and did so much writing regularly befor
breakfast" William Black also thinks th
morning the best time for writing. Fl
writes two hours before and two hours afte
: morning luncheon. Thomas Hardy say
! that he writes at irregular intervals, som,
times in the morning and sometimes in th
!, evening. The method of James Payn Is thi.
He carries the plot around in his head ii
completed, when he writes it out as rapid
as possible often working fifteen out Of th
| twenty TO T hours of the day,
We may close this part of the subject b
citing the opinions of two American move
lists, as to the best time for writing. Sal
Mr.. Howells, in = recent interview with
newspaper man: THE first half of the da
is the best part of a mans life. l alwa,
D select it for my working hours, usual
begin at 9and stopat l o'clock" To tho san
effect is the testimony of the late E. P. Ro
J in recent number Of Lippincott's Magazin
~ go into my study" says he, Immediate
5 after breakfast, usually about o'cloc
e and write until or in the afte
/ noon, stopping only for light lunch. =
\ In former years l wrote at night, but after
Y severe attack of insomnia this practice W,
) almost wholly abandoned"
q Finally, it should DO born in mind that tt
: time for good writing is largely influences
, by circumstances and by environment
: Many of the distressing and annoying CT
J cumstances incident to city life are partic
larly unfavorable to easy writing Abo'
e all, noises and harsh sounds have ever be,
the bane of the writer. They distract the g
tention and put the mind out of tune
l. orderly and continuous thought. This d
= turbing force of sounds is vice of mode
!, city life.-L. J. Vance in The Epoch.