Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1897-11-04
HOW TO WRITE.
To Local Press Superintendent Of the
W. G. L. u.


good ending" my grandmother
used to say when l begged to be
taught how to knit at six years old.
She kept me knitting on half a
dozen stitches with two needles
when l was so anxious to make
pretty lace. "If you cannot do
plain knitting well you need never
try to knit a flower" she would
say.
To all who have a talent for
writing 1 would say, begin by writ
ing sentences-andI | will add right
here that an earnest desire, de-
sire that will overcome all obsta-
cles, is talent-write a sentence
just as you would say it. When
you have written a few lines on
some subject that is ever present
in your mind, it will not be long
before you can write another, or
imagine you are conversing with a
friend. That imaginary converse
ton will be just the very thing We
need to strengthen our cause, al
ways remembering that a piece
you could write might appeal to
some one that many fine writers
and speakers had failed to impress
dow do you find time to write? is
often asked me. Seven years ago
l answered the lady contributors
of a widely circulated paper that
81 never sharpened pencil if it
were to wound and stab Duty"
| saw that piece not long since in
an old scrap-book. had forgotten
al about it but that sentence
pleased me more than any from
my own pen | have ever seen in
print.
So | will say, don't write when
your child or children need your
immediate attention, but don't un-
derstand me to mean that mothers
should not write; far from it; they
are the very ones of all others that
feel and know the need of this
great work; they are the ones
most capable to lead this work at
home.
But the mothers plans will lie
dormant without the aid of the
single or unhindered ones to carry
these plans into effect. All this is
not telling you how to find time to
write. Keep a pencil in your
pocket or belt and a small tablet
or pieces of wrapping paper cut in
sheets or lengths, and when you
think of something you wish to
say, write it down, if it is only a
few words. You can do that in
the kitchen or dining room, or in
the cars or in a depot waiting for a
train. | invariably have a desire
to write when / am sewing and al
ways keep paper and pencil handy.
l hear so many good men and
women say, 81 could just preach a
sermon on that subject" Won't
you please write down those SER
mons2 Write them in your own
plain way; the world is starving
for them.
No one should attempt to write
unless thoughts knock persistently |
at th9 door of their mind and |
clamor to get out, and il they do,
you do very wrong not to write
them down for fear of lack of form |
and fine language in which to
clothe them. There are untold |
numbers who need just the kind of
a piece you would write, and your
opportunity is just when you feel
most impressed.
A good writer once said, "Let |
the occasion pass and you cannot
recall the originality and lnspira-
ton of that moment" Often how.
ever, you are engaged and cannot
stop just then. Jot down a few
notes so that when you do have
spare time your thoughts will not
be lost. 1t is central ideas that
we need to be careful of, and put
into good form atterward at leisure. |
Oliver Wendell Holmes was said |
to be so particular TO catch those
delicate, fieeting impressions that
he would take out his pencil and
scratch down his thoughts, no mat
ter where he was or what he was
doing. There is nothing one
should be more careful of than
putting thoughts into print; the
subjects as well the words in
which they are expressed should |
be very carefully chosen.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox gives a
hint i'll the following verse that
there are several doors or avenues
in the kingdom of thought, and
that they need careful choosing:
Thought is pass key fitting any lock;
Insert it where you Will. and soon OF late
II you but turn the key and wait,
That door, tho seeming Ike a wall OF rock,
Shall swing upon its hinges.
Choose your door and keep your thought key |
fixed there evermore.
In writing for a paper that has