Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1908-03-20
JONES HAS AN
IDEA
nut He Is Unable TO Put IL on Paper

writing a story are the beginning of
1t, the going on with it, and the I'm
ishing of it; and even when these facts
have been accomplished to the salts
faction of the writer he still has an
arduous task to perform, which is to
sell 1t. There We been cases on rec
ord in which last feat has never
been accomp at all
To the young 4, 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 It's 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 c. p. r. James, comes to
his mind:
Two solitary horsemen were travers.
ing lonely wood at the end of hot
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-
/ ~ uyh
lence first
The New England style next occurs
to him:
Louisa" called a hard, sharp voice
from the rear kitchen, you come right
in this minnit! Louisa! Looee-zer!
Drat the gal, where is she? Gallivantin'
araound them Hicks's n, adders, reck-
on. Fer the lan's SAT, here she Is
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 un-
necessary, has a strong local color,
and II Jones has a young girl and
cross stepmother in Concord, N. H..
for his principal characters he will dc
well 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. Gallashin's house in tht
Seventies, near the park, with com
] pressed lips and cloudy eyes.
Home, julius" she said as she
stepped into her limousine, and as this
we'll appointed machine flew alont
the avenue, barely within the limits
of the law, she wondered dumbly how
she was going to right herself will
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 worl
\ spending twice as much as they'v
got.
Once upon time there was a.
Ridiculous. It sounds too much lik
fairy story. Going to the other e'
IRENE suddenly, Jones conceives thi
start:
The thousands and thousands of c.
medicines which occur In the dali
lives of the present century toiler II
fallibly lead to the conclusion ths
what we term accident or chance
really only
Hang It! That leads nowhere. 3
this time Jones has forgotten whit
his story is about.
yyau he ,,ouat concentrate his min
Let him think. There's man and
woman who marry and who separa
Immediately afterward. Why? No
why? oh, yes, because they mu
meet again 20 years later In order
threaten ruin to the lives Of the he
and heroine, one of whom la the chi
of the woman by a previous maria
and the other the child of the man
a subsequent and bigamous marriaE
And the point is-the point is-w
what is the point?
The point might be several thin
but Jones hasn't got that far yet. ]
Jones wants to do is to begin his sto
but he can't decide whether to bee
with the marriage of the parents
the lovemaking of the youngsters a
go backward when he's in the mid
r Of the narrative. He might start t
way:
Esther yawned and threw down
. book. The hammock felt uncomfc
e able to her shoulders and she wisf
: life held more novelty for her. Oh.
the medieval days of glory wi
knights came riding up from the e
t and threw down gauntlets. Oh,
the
Jones began to get nervous himi
now. One more try:
= well, fer a newly married cou
them two is the most businesslike |
ties as ever l. SEEN" muttered
sexton as he watched the cerem,
2 from the rear OF the church.
thought of the blushing brides and
eager bridegrooms who had stood
.aRona tba Raw Anna nnin pnrf