The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-01-07
OLIVER OPTIC.
A Pleasant Chat With a
Popular Author.
A FAVORITE WITH ALL BOYS.
He Has Written Over One Thousand
Short Stories and One Hundred
Books-The Useful Typewriter.
Detroit Free Press.

A man under medium height, with thin,
grayish white hair, heavy mustache and
beard OF the same color, slightly Roman
nose, blue eyes and broad. deep forehead
this describes the personal appearance Of
one OF the most widely known American
writers of juvenile story books, William
Taylor Adams or, as he is better known,
Oliver Optic, who Is at the Russell House.
Mr.. Adams is the father-in-law Of Sol
Smith Russell. and came from Boston to
spend the holidays with his daughter and
grandchildren in Minneapolis. passing
through Detroit on the way to witness one
of his gifted son-in-law's representations.
Probably not a schoolboy has lived in the
United States since the war who has not at
some time or other neglected his studies to
pore over delightful juvenile romance
woven by the fertile brain Of Oliver Optic.
In his career he has written more than 100
such STORIES and every one has been eagerly
read. ICquiry at the public libraries every
where will develop the fact that the demand
Tor his books exists six days every week
and that many copies are duplicated and
even Quadrupcated 10 supply the demand.
Mr.. Adams was born In Massachusetts In
1892 and is of English descent. About his
eaily life Mr.. Adams told his visitor some
facts of interest yesterday. Il am not
college graduate" he said, sin fact l never
went to college. / contemplated taking
such course, but abandoned the design,
aud began TO teach school. My first story
was published about this time. 1t was
called The Social Monitor and a few
others followed it, | continued to teach
school and to write. The fist money l ever
received for story was Sc Nearly all OF
my evenings and leisure time was spent In
writing the stories. work for which had
special aptitude and great liking. In 1853
/ published my first volume, entitled
'Hatchie, the Guardian Slave; or the
Heiress of Bellevue For this / received
S37 30. My next volume caught the popular
fancy. 1t was a collection Of short tales and
sketches entitled In Doors aud Out, aud
as il grew in popularity | became better
known, and the publishers were eager to
publish whatever ] wrote. My tirSt juvenile
book was called The Boat Club ! may
say il was very successful, and encouraged
thereby i wrote several series OF books.
such as The Great Western series, The
Yacht Club series, ETC., which | dare say
are we'll known both TO small and grown-up
boys.
FINALLY after twenty years at the school
teachers desk | resigned teaching at the
request of my publishers, who told me my
entire time should be devoted 10 story
writing. That was in 1865. | then went
abroad and travelled over go0d part or
Europe TO collect material for the I Dung
America Abroad series. Since then have
visited every continent except Australia.
"Will you.tell the public something about
your method ?" he was asked.
''In the first place | have 10 be very tenn
perate and frugal in my habits. AS Iule
| arise very early and, commencing work at
o'clock. put in an hour before breakfast.
The meal concluded i work steadily on
until p. NJ. That l call days work. and
it totals sometimes 5000, ofteDer 1900 words.
| was one of the first TO use a typewriter.
1t was in 1875 l suffered greatly from pen
paralysis, | call it. because 1t was not a
mere cramp. Having been schoolteacheT.
| held MY pen the right way, but In my
eagerness while at work | pinched it too
hard inducing painful and helpless feel
ing which, commencing with the thumb and
two adjoining fingers Of the right hand,
strung all the way along to the shoulder.
My doctor ordered me to stop writing. 1t
was crusher, for I'd as soon stop breath
ing. About that time the typewriter was
invented, and bought one OF the first ones
made. In six months | had mastered it
and was able to turn out fair manuscript
in fair time | have used 1t ever
since. Some writers think their best
thoughts can only be expressed through the
medium of pen or pencil, but / have never
round it so. My thoughts flow readily and
smoothly while iypewriting. There is no
cramp, no paralysis, no WORKOUT sleeves
and then see what q blessing 1T is to the
WlDsb UUly tucDIS III tub NOIiu
Is bad manuscript. / have written more
than 1000 short stories and more than 100
books. A book contains about $4,000 words,
and / write four OF five ia year. Before
commence work | nave sketched out the
plot, main incidents, dates, characters etc,
in my pl0tbOok, and with that before me
commence TO write. i never wait for an
inspiration. | am not believer in It, OF
course there are moments when my thoughts
are brighter than at others, but l hold aud
find that wriler Is CAPABLE OF doing
certain amount of work each day.whether it
rains or shines, provided OF course he is in
good physical condition.
II hud that no part of the country fur
nishes better material for a story than
another. | have been in Detroit before,
and the region around st. Clair Flats,
Mount Clemens and the Clinton River gave
me the scenes OF one Of my stories. | have
been all over the Great Lakes. aud they
figure in some OF my stories"
please explain why a majority of the
best writers come from the East
Because the mental atmosphere there is
more of the literary order. Out this way
the people are so busy putting up tall build
ings, dealing in real estate and otherwise
developing cities that their tastes are turned
away from literary work. Then, too, all of
the big magazines and publishing houses
are In the East, which OF Itself is an answer
to your question. However, a good maya
manage it and willingness to pay the high
prices which real merit demands would, if
started, say in Chicago, prove a success, /
doubt not
Does. college education make the
writer?"
mo. But IL is In sense necessary. II
gives him a solid foundation of methodical
habits. polish and studious nature. and en-
ables him To give tone and finish to his
work which he could otherwise with diff
Guilty achieve. if at all. Nearly all our East
ern writer's of note are college graduates.
Yale and Harvard, perhaps, give the stu
dents the best start in literature. though
your own Ann Arbor ranks very high"
Mr.. Adams is now engaged Cd the fourth
volume in the "All Over the World" series,
each book of which is sequel 10 the one
before it. He is hater Of the dime novel
story. with its priyateer highwayman and
bank Iobber. and says, II have never writ
ten story which would excite the love,
admiration and sympathy Of the reader for
an evil npreon ~