Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1907-12-25
JONES HAS AN
IL EA
But He IL UNABLE TO put Il on PEPPER

It's all very well having an idea for
a story, but it's very different mat
ter writing 1t. Til ee difficult parts OF
writing story a.e the beginning OF
1t, the going on With 1t, and the I'm
ishing of it.; and even when these facts
have been accom- lished to the salts
faction of the writer he still has an
arduous task to perform, which is to
sell 1t. There have been cases on rec
ord in which the last feat has never
been accomplished at all
To the young WI tier. like Jones, 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 holt
on any of its limbs and lay 1t fiat. 1t
eludes him and laughs him to scorn
as he tries to put paper and ink flesh
on its bones.
Jones thinks of the various open
ings of stories he has read. The ro-
mantle style, as adopted by Scott,
Dumas and G. p R. James, comes to
his mind.
Two solitary horsemen were travers-
ing lonely wood at the end OF no,
July day. The steeds picked their way
carefully as they passed over the un-
derbrush, and for an hour or two the
animals footballs were the only
sounds heard. At length Eyes, OF
course) the elder horseman was the
first to break the silence. (The elder
horseman always is the first to break
the silence.)
But there aren't any horsemen In
Jones story, and it's matter OF in
difference to him who breaks the 81.
lence first.
The New England style next occurs
to him.
Louisa" called hard, sharp voice
from the rear kitchen, you come right
in this minnit, Louisa! Loo-ee-zer!
Drat the gal, where is she? Gallivantin
araound them Hickss medders, reck-
on. Fer the lan's sake, here she if
naow!"
Jones realizes that this kind of open
ing attracts attention from the start
and gives promise of interesting do
nestle trouble for Louisa. The pc
culiar spelling of "minnit," though I'M
necessary, has a strong local color,
and if Jones has young girl and
cross stepmother in Concord, NJ H.,
for his principal characters he will do
we'll to ponder this opening. But he
hasn't
He thinks and thinks. All, here is
the society novel style:
Helen Van Mustard came down the
steps Of Mrs. Gala shin's house in the
Seventies, near the park, with COM
! pressed lips and cloudy eyes.
Home, julius" she said, as she
stepped into her limousine, and as the
well appointed machine few along
the avenue, barely within the limits
of the law, she wondered dumbly how
she was going to right herself with
her recent hostess. Helen felt con
WINGED that the Countess Szlgzkzow
ski had cheated, but how to prove 1t?
No, that won't do. There are no over
moneyed people in Jones work
spending twice as much as they've
got
| Once upon time there was a.
Ridiculous 1t sounds too much like
fairy story. Going to the other ex
IRENE suddenly, JCnes conceives this
sstart:
The thousands and thousands of CO
| incidences which occur in the dali!
tlives of the prese century toiler In
fallibly lead to the conclusion tina
what we term accident or chance i
/ really only
Hang it! That leads nowhere. B,
this time Jones has forgotten wha
his story is about.
! Well, he must concentrate his mind
| Let him think. There's man and
woman who marry and who separat
Immediately afterward. Why? Now
why? Oh, yes, because they mus
meet again 20 years later in order t
threaten ruin to the lives of the her,
and heroine, one of whom is the chill
of the woman by a previous marriag
and the other the child Of the man b,
subsequent and bigamous marriage
And the point is-the point is-wel
what is the point?
The point might be several things
but Jones hasn't got that far yet AL
Jones wants to do is to begin his story
but he can't decide whether to begil
with the marriage of the parents o
the lovemaking Of the youngsters AM
60 backward when he's in the middl
of the narrative. He might start thi
way:
Esther yawned and threw down he
book. The hammock felt uncomfort
able to her shoulders and she wishes
life held more novelty for her. Oh, 70
the medieval days Of glory whel
knights came riding up from the cas-
and threw down gauntlets. oh, TO
the
Jones began to get nervous himsel
now. One more try:
''Well, fer a newly married coupl
them two Is the most businesslike pal
ties as ever SEEM muttered tn
sexton as he watched the ceremon,
from the rear OF the church III
.N / an 4 49,