The morning call., 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- laws representations.
Probably not schoolboy has lived in the
United States since the war who has not at
some time or other neglected his studies TO
pore over a 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. Inquiry at the public Libraries every
where will develop the fact that the demand
for his books exists six days every week
and that many copies are duplicated and
even quadruplicated 10 supply the demand.
Mr.. Adams was born In Massachusetts in
1892 and is of English descent. About his
early life MI Adams told his visitor some
facts of interest yesterday. Il am not
college graduate" he said, lin fact L never
went to college. contemplated taking
such a course, but abandoned the design,
and began to teach school. My first story
was published about this time. 1T was
called The Social Monitor and few
others followed it. / continued TO teach
school and to write. The fist money ever
received for a 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
Heress of Bellevue For this / received
S37 90. My next volume caught the popular
fancy. 1t was collection of short tales and
sketches entitled In Doors and Out and
as il grew in popularity l became better
known, and the publishers were eager to
publish whatever wrote. My fist juvenile
book was called The Boat Club / may
say it was very successful, and encouraged
thereby ! wrote several series of books,
such as The Great Western series, The
Yacht Club series, ETC., which l 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 TO story
writing. That was in 1862 L then went
abroad and travelled over a good part OF
Europe TO collect material for the Y 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 tile first place | have 10 be very tenn
Derate and frugal in my habits. AS a Iule
1 arise very early and, commencing work at
s-e.slock. / put 10 an hour before breakfast.
aeNl concluded / work steadily on
~. That cali days work, and
Aetimes 5000, oftener 1900 words.
~Le first TO use a typewriter.
suffered greatly from pen
~. because II was not
z been a sch0olteaeher,
right way, but in my
NIX l pinched il too
u and helpless feel
with the thumb and
the right hand,
10 the shoulder.
top writing. Ii
on stop breath
typewriter was
the first ones
ii mastered it
ir manuscript
ised 1t ever
K their best
Il through the
{ i have never
3w readily and
There is no
On out sleeves
ag it is TO the
my in the world
Yye written more
|ld more than 100
Lbout SC, 600 words
I'm year. Before
I've sketched out the
Oates. characters, etc,
with that before me l
/ never wait for an
IN not q believer in it. OF
moments when my thoughts
yian al others, but hold aud
= wTier is capable Of doing
amount Of work each day. whether it
- or shines, provided Of course he is in
fsod physical condition.
II find that no part of the country fur
nishes better material for story than
sBother. ! 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
ngs, 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, good maya
manage it and a willingness to pay the high
prices which real merit demands would, if
started, say in Chicago, prove success,
doubt not"
Does college education make the
writer?"
mo. But It is In sense necessary. II
gives him a solid foundation of methodical
habits, polish and stuGious nature. and en-
ables him to give n tone and finish 10 his
work which he could otherwise with diff
Guilty achieve. if at all. Nearly all our East
ern writers 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 Old the fourth
volume in the "All Over the Worlo" series,
each book of which is a sequel TO the one
before it. lie is a hater of the dime novel
story. with its priyateer, highwayman and
bank iobber. and says, II have never writ
ten a story which would excite the love,
admiration and sympathy Of the reader for
an evil person."