The daily morning Alaskan., 1903-03-28
Making a ChUmp
 Of a Hero
torirnaLl

chairs. before los fire. Story writing was a part of my work. and I did it for pay. Therefore I discouraged Ju- Has plan.
 There's too much shop about 1t for me" said
 But I'm curious to know how these things are done. Come; yield to me for once. How do you beginr'
 ''The first thing to determine upon Is a plan. To tell the truth. one seldom strikes an original subject for a story, but 1T one is handy at the business be may take an old theme and serve 1t up daintily. SO as to give 1t the flavor of originality. In all or nearly all stories there are a male lover and a female lover, a vir'-
 "You mean a man who has given his heart to a woman who responds to his passion"
 "Yes: that's 1t when we get It on pa' per. but before that we say hrst-to take common subject-here's the man lover. here's the woman lOver-or loyeress. if you prefer it And now for the complications. Experience teaches us to avoid details that are very com mon. Don't make the lover and lover ess"-
 T wish you'd find other names for them"
 -"spoon In the conservatory"
 "Its a delightful place for lovemak. ing"
 That's the reason story makers al- ways use it Then don't make the| lover rescue the-the girl from a fire. The hremen are the ones to do that If lt must be done at all"
 Never mind the don'ts. Get on with the story"
 Well, first we'll give them names The lover is Charles. Perhaps wed better make him a young lawyer; the loveress-I mean the loved one-is Lucy. and the villain is an officer of the United States army who distln- guished himself ln the Spanish war.
 What funny kind of villain" cried Julia. suddenly looking up at me. "Wherelu does his villainy consistF'
 "In loving the heroine
 But Captain"- She stopped and colored
 "Captuin Pebbles, to give him a name, Is really not SO much to blame as Lucy, who fails to see Charles advantages and Insists on giving her heart to uheI captain. You see. the villainy is in tue military trappings that have induced so many girls to lead garrison lives who might otherwise have had comfortable homes"
 q see" said Julia, wagging her toe on a foot rest. but l don't think that has anything to do with it if she loves him"
 Well. to go on with the story, Lucy gives Charles the grand bounce II mean she dlsmisses him as a lover, though she retains him as a friend You see. Charles has loved her long while. and she was always very nice tcI him till the captain came along, when she changed like a weather vane'-
 Nothing Of the kind. mean you can't make heroine of a girl as hckleI as that"
 That Is what Charles thinks about 1t. SO after bearing Lucy's acceptance of the captains attentions for some time he just buttons up his coat, puts on bis hat with a slap on the crown, crams bis hands into his trousers peck cts and goes on by himself. perfectly indifferent"
 "Wouldn't it be a nice complication to have him suddenly struck with an' other glrlY' asked Julia, glancing at me sldewise. And then he finds out when 1t is too late that Lucy's acceptance of the captains attentions were simply the result of pique."
 "H'm! It seems that we are going all wrong. The lover and loyeress lex cuse the word; can't find another ap- pear to be very commonplace people, easily made jealous without cause. es pecially the girr'-
 "You mean the man"
 "Wen. never mind which is to blame. The villain turns out to be the only sen slble one Of the lot. and real hero in a military way if not as a lover"
 Lets have it that the captain is en' gagged to another girl all the while
 "WhatT'
 "Yes: the captain is engaged and has made Lucy his conhdanL"
 That won't do"
 ''Why notT'
 Because lt win make the hero of the story appear like an overjealous chump. Besides. the heroine has no business to have secrets from her real lover"
 Do herolnes go about revealing con ndencesT
 I scratched my head thoughtfully. l had set out to make my principal man . hero. Julia had shaped him a gander.
 'Iu tell you what we'll do," I said at last. 'gThackeray made hero in Van lty Fair Of Major Dobbln. who started ln as a chump. Suppose we reverse the process and make a chump of the hero
 "we don't need to do that. The hero has made chump of himself"
 turned and met a merry pair Of eyes and a smile.