Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-06-13
The Argus Daily Short Story
Constructing Story-By F. A. Mitchell
Copyrighted. 1910. by Associated Literary PresA

"What mean is that Mr. G. being
an imaginary person.
How can he be imaginary when
he handed the girl into carriage?'
81 fear you have your mind fixed Oh
a real person who handed real girl
into a real carriage"
"Oh, go on. Tell me about the girl
Are you going to make villain of her
too%
by no means. She's to be the
heroine
What does she do that's heroicY'
':.She may not turn out a heroine
This is to be a realistic story. you
know. If she is fooled by Mr.. G. and
doesn't really care for Mr.. a. she may
not fulfill the conditions OF the story
You see, characters often run away
with the authors who create them and
do just as they like In spite OF him."
81 see. You may depend upon it
this Miss B. will fall in love with
just whom she pleases. Maybe she
won't fall in love with either of them"
II fear collaboration with you will
prove very difficult. If you're going
to run away with the heroine. perhaps
shall have something TO say about
the hero. I'm not bound TO make him
marry Miss Il. He may be very much
disappointed in her,"
And she may be very much disap-
pointed in him"
This won't do. We're not getting
on at ALL We're going to construct
realistic story. but ave don't wish 1t
80 H1 no cola hnraf
will quarrel over the characters and
whether they are to be good or bad,
Iovable or ENJOYABLE. Let us go on
to where Mr.. A meets Miss B. sec
ond time. He next sees her dancing
with Mr.. G. at Mrs. Schermerhorn's
ball"
81 thought it was at Mrs. Van Vech-
tens"
Wen call her Mrs Van Vechten
If you like. The name doesn't signify.
Mr. A. secures an introduction to Miss
B. and dances with her twice when
one OF his friends says to him, You
needn't waste your time on that girl;
she's engaged to c.
We'll, l declare! Who took it upon
himself TO say that?"
Zone Wen call Mr.. D."
al think you'd better make him the
villain, going around saying things
that are not true"
You don't seem to understand the
part of the villain in a story. Mr.. d.
is only q dummy. one of those persons
thrown into the story to enable the
author TO say things instead of saying
them himself Mr.. c.. who is supposed
TO have considerable influence with
the heroine--an influence not divulSed
till the end of the story-is the villain
or. in other words. n foil for Mr. a.
He is like a knight in the game Of
chess. Mr.. d. is only IL pawn"
"Oh, think these skeletons of sto-
ries are like the skeletons of people
horrid. If you authors write stories
that way don't wonder many Of
them Re so uninteresting. Can't you
get on TO something PLEASANT"
''Well. well pass to the third meet
ing. Shall we have it at the sea-
shoreT'
NO"
I'm the mountainsT'
NO"
Suppose we have them meet among
THESE billS. we u DeSlU ludl CudpleI
by having Mr.. \. and Miss 3. strolling
just as we are. listening TO that now
ing machine down yonder"-
mo; to the BIRDS
Every well. TO the birds. They came
together at the same hotel by coinci-
dence"
by coincidence?'
Eyes. Why not?"
"Oh. nothing. l thought he said he
knew she was here and came here on
purpose to meet her"
'Did he say that?"
"Of course he did"
That's better for real life than an
imaginary story. In the latter acct
dental meetings add to the interest.
They're less prosaic."
"Well. what next?"
"The first step for him is to find out
what are her relations to Mr.. c.
lit seems to me that he's bothering
himself altogether too much about Mr..
c."
at makes the story more interest
ing"
But it's very disagreeable to her to
have her name connected with a man
she cares nothing about
Are you sure she acted all the while
as if she cared nothing about C.?''
Maybe. If she did it only makes
the story more interesting. you know"
Not TO A.
But he's only an imaginary charac-