Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1896-08-27
HOW COL. KING WRITES NOVELS.
His Methods Delineated to an Eastern
Writer.

The June number of the Nickel
magazine contains a contribution by
Charles T. Scott entitled, How Some
Famous Authors Write, in which Capt
Charles King is favorably mentioned
in addition to reference to Frank K.
Stockton, DR.. Edward Eggleston, Gen.
Lew Wallace and F. Marion Crawford.
In speaking of Capt. King, Mr.. Scott
says of an interview with Wisconsin's
adjutant general:
Capt. Charles King, the brilliant
writer OF such intensely interesting
American stories of army life, is man
whose acquaintance is an honor He
is of soldierly physique and has
clean-cut decisiVe-lOoking face; these,
with his frank, open nature, utterly
free from anything like affectation, and
an earnest, convincing manner Cr
speaking, all go to make up person
atty more chal ming, if possible, than
that which shines through the pages Of
his books While he was on one OF his
occasional visits to New York, some
time ago, greatly enjoyed talk with
him concerning his work.
(which of my stories do | consider
the strongest?' he said. That is hard
question to answer. 1t would seem to
me like stretching a point to say
thought any of them strong. Some of
them | have never read since the day
they were penned; some l pore over
T nd
others | wish I had not done at all. In
their favor, though, it may be said
that they have done much to make one
woman and three children very happy,
and have given them opportunities OF
foreign travel, ETC., which would have
been beyond us but for those modest
productions. How do l write? 1 have
no we'll defined rules or regulations Of
composition; | work more as the spirit
moves, usually thinking out my stories
as I go through the routine of life,
gaining inspiration and fresh materials
from the discharge of my duties and
contact with the world in general. /
used to write entirely by hand; chat
was too hard work, but | never could
endure dictation; besides, it occupied
too much of my time. For anywhere
from 1000 to 5000 words constitute a
good days work. Being more of SOL
der than a writer, l have never de-
voted my life to literature, but still re-
tain my post in the army; therefore,
either writing or dictation could cut
into my duties too much, so | called in
science to aid me by adopting the
monograph, which l find a great relief
and a pleasure to use. Now whenever
[ am engaged upon book, if striking
thought, situation, bit Of dialogue, or
anything connected with my story
comes into my head, | go as soon as
possible to the photograph and talk I'M
til I exhaust that thought-Vein. So on
by instruments, as it were, [ continue
talking to the machine until the book
is finished. The tubes are afterwards
taken in charge by my typewriter, who
patiently listens to their story, and
transmits it to paper by another Of the
latest gifts of science-the typewriter
after which l revise and add 10 it.
That is very simple process, is it not?
I am often reminded of the old-time Ia
Dor of writing, by requests from auto
graph collectors, asking me to copy
paragraphs and pages-yes, even chap
ters-of certain books which they par
ticularly like. While I always answer
these letters, their requests I cannot
grant.
"'What forms the basis of story
FOR your"
That is most easily and concisely
answered by saying, my daily life and
my past experience in the army, cou-
pied with keen observation and Ge-
sire, long existent with me, to write.'"