The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1901-10-04

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to repeat himself IN deeds Of daring.
Il often happens that one central char
acter Is carried along as the hero
through 20 or 30 stories published IN
the modern library" style Of such
fiction. While the sane name or nom
Dc plume may appear on the title page
Of each story, a dozen different
authors perhaps contribute to the
series, each taking up the characters
where they we're left by the preceding
writer, and carrying them on 10 new
fields OF adventure.
A publisher who had created a 70.
mantle western adventurer with n
name that proved popular with the
boys contracted with one Of his regu-
lar writers for a series of twenty
stories. After sixteen OF the series
had been issued, one every two weeks
and the other four extensively adver.
tlsed to appear on certain dates. the
author fell Ill. The publisher sent for
one Of his daily writer's, who was EN-.
ployed on a daily newspaper. and
arranged with him to take I'D the
work and carry on the central charac-
tiers unchanged In order to prevent
delay in getting out the stories ais adj
vertised the extra writer had to read
up the career Of the hero from the
start and write four novels Of forty
thousand words each in twenty DAYS.
The task was successfully accom-
plished, and the writer in question did
not lose an hour from his regular
work as a reporter. Devoting only
nights and Sundays to the stories, he
dictated them to stenographer,
working sometimes six and seven
hours at night at a rate of two thous.
and words per hour.
The regular writer's Of such stories,
men who do not attempt any other
work, are able to produce one story of
forty thousand to fifty thousand
words a week, for SIX months or ayear
with comparative ease Under press
ure, they can readily write two a
week, but could not long continue that
rate OF production without a period Of
complete mental and physical rest
The author who attempts to lay out a
schedule of his story, to work out a
! plot to the end In his mind, and name
all his characters in advance, cannot
write, dime novels. He must be able
to take a title, name and an incident
suggested by the publisher, and write
a story of specified length, letting
the plot grow and develop as he
writes. He must invent names as he
forms the letters that spell them and
create a thrilling incident or climax
Virtue must always triumph, in the
dime novels, and vice be overthrow,
the desirable consummation being
achieved invariably in the last chap
ter, and the hero must be an example
OF all the virtues. Nor must the viii
lain be too wicked, for in certain re-
spects the morality OF the dime novel
is very rigid. 1t may surprise many
persons who denounce such fiction as
wholly bad, to know that the publish
er will not permit a line or situation
that might so much as suggest indie
cency or vulgarity. The villains as
well as the heroes all swear under
their BREATH" and oaths are never
used in the lines of the story. -Four
or five large publishing housesi New
York produce tons of such literature
every week and the business is con
Quoted in systematic way. There is
the sharpest kind of competition in
the trade, and the writer who car
suggest and work out new and move
plots or situations will find a demand
for all the material he can produce.