The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-11-24
PAINFUL PART or THE STORY.
n HAS an adcA-Tho Timing as. How n
Tie Co Get Nc ON EaDers

NNH FENNF VT BME NEOMh
jones Has an adc@-Tho TIMING ls. ROw n
Ee Gu Get nc ON Papers
It's all very we'll having an idea for a
story. but it's a very different matter writ
ing It. Three difficult parts OF writing a
story are the beginning of it. the going
on with u. and tho finishing of Il; and gwen
when these facts have been accomplished
to the satisfaction Of the writer nc still
has an ardu0us task to perform. which
9 to sell il. There have been cases on
record in which the last feat has never
been accomplished at all.
To tho young writer. like JoneR. for
instance, the beginning Of his story appears
the most painful. Jones has his idea.
his story skeleton. dancing in his brain.
but he can't get a holt on any of it's limbs
N lay IL fiat. It eludes him and laughs
him TO soorn as he tries to put paper and
ink flesh OF It's bones.
Jones thinks OF the various openings
OF stories he has read. The romantic
style. as adopted BY Scott. Dumas and
g.. p. r. James. comes TO his mind:
Two solitary horsemen were travcrsinR q
lonely wood at the end Of a hot July day.
The steeds picked their way carefully as they
parsed over the underbrush. and for an hour
or two the animals footballs we're the only
sounds heard A. length [yes Of counsel
the elder horseman was the first TO bresk
the silence. THE elder hcrsenlsu always
is the first to break the %silence.l
But there aren't any horscmen in Joues's
story. and it's "A matter OF indifference TO
him who breaks tho silence first.
The New England style next occurs to
him: .
Louisa. ' called n hard, sharp voice FROM
the rear kitchen. you come right in this
mlnait! louisa Loo-ee-zer! Drar rhe gal.
where is she? Gsllivantin' araound them
Hicks's medders. I reckon. Fer the lau's
sake. here she is naow!'
Jones' realizes that this kind Of opening
attracts attention from the start and gives
promise Of interesting domestic trouble for
Louisa. The peculiar spelling of "minnit."
though unnecessary, has a strong local
color, and II Jones has a young girl and q
cross atepmother in Concord, n. H., for his
principal characters he will do we'll to pom
der this opening. But he hasn't.
He thinks and thinks. All. here is tho
society novel style:
Helen Van Mustard came down the steps
Of Mrs. Galiashin's house In the Seventies.
near the PARK. with compressed lips but
cloudy eyes.
NAbiAlE bNAtAAE NAF "NN ~ ~ NRkN
into her limousine, and MS the we'll appointed
machine few along the avenue. barely withiR
the limits OF the law. she wondered dumbly
how she was going to right herself with her
recent hostess. Helen felt convinced that
the Countess Szlgzk1Owski had cheated, but
how 10 prove iF I
No. that won't do. There are no over
moneyed people in Jones's work, spending
twice as much as they've got.
Once upon a time there was a.
Ridiculous. H. sounds too much like .
fairy story. Going to the other extreme
suddenly, Jones conccives this start:
The thousands and thousands Of coin
cidences which occur in the daily lives OF the
present century toiler infallibly lead to tho
conclusion that what We term accident or
chance lie realty only
Hang itl That leads nowhere. BY this
| time Jones has almost forgotten what his
story is about.
Well, he must concentrate his mind. Let
him think. There's a man and a woman
who marry and who separate Immediately
| afterward. Why9 Nov. why? Oh. yes.
because they must meet again twenty years
later in order TO threaten ruin TO the lives
OF the hero and heroine. one OF whom 10
the child of the woman by a previous mar
rage n the other the child of the man
bv a subsequent and bigamOus marriage.
And the point is-the point is-well. what
is the point9
The point might he several things. but
Jones hasn't got that far yet. All Jones
wants to do is TO begin his story. but he
CAM decide whether to begin with the
marriage Of the parents or the lovemaking
on the Youngsters and go backward when
he's in the middle Of the narrative. He
might start this way:
Esther yawned and threw down her book.
The hammock felt uncomfortable to her
| shoulders and she wished life held more
novelty for her. Oh for the medieval
lays OF glory when knights came riding ND
! from the East and threw down gauntlets.
oh for the
Jones began to get nervous himself now.
One more try:
We'll, fer a pewly married couple them
two Is the most businesslike parties as ever
seem muttered the sexton as he watched
tha from the rear nj the church.
He thought Of the blushing brides and the
eager bridegroOms who had stood up before
the Rev. Amos Daingerield during tn. last
fourteen years Of the lattcr's incumbency
Of the
Suddenly there was a mufied cry and a
dark flash through the air. Jones had lost
his reason and thrown the bottle OF ink
at himself.