The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-04-23
wars OE WTHoRS az W0RN.
Wniia@s w~sa flVweaas wVsses Most EaVtS
N to Dsy q urisus Pvusttsss.

not far from Washington Square whars
young candidates for literary fams were
wont IN gather They sat around = large
table In froas 20 q great op-n fireplace
d'Hc'i7sinG over their cheap WINS the
Genius &C rD-n WIN had preceded th-tn.
Two or 'hre- times a wssk they wo1ld
mast Papers were reed discussion
followed
Nat these strange Restaurant aud
Gales arr not % m'unsro'ss NJ they we're.
and the young authors must se~k other
places for their mee,ings. IL was one
81 the few remaining msHalssrs % this
ambitious literary clan Who brought mp
ths subject % authors' habits tho other
evening. lie IL not . young man noe:
he has retired from active work. And
vet lie ~ Interested ks.nly in the work
OF present day writer's aud " not nearly
so p~ssimistic about the quality ot the
stories turned out ~ q good many critics
aFr
IN she Old DAYS. he said. the Young
men hal weird i'l-as concerning authors.
They used To think that TO lecom~ really
successful one must b. hong haired and
eyeElAssed and have mOOds. To write
n story they thought that ON. should
Eo tn the very setting oI his tale. stay
there gill he had breathed the atmosphere
sufficiently. And then write. II should
he done in a hurry
II Is true. 90 course. that such was the
conception % only a particular act. Others
may not have had such notions. btis Ii-
point made Try the speaker was that
the q lder order has changed IN literature.
just as il has in business. Things are
cysienattzed a b,t now. Although a
good part OF the reading pubic has 60;
rid Of the idea ~ imagining authors To
be anything but human beings there
remain a lot OF people who wonder what
they are really Ike
4 short whils ago a publishing house.
in New York wrote to Que &c it, most
popular contributors and asked him Ca
tell something 20 his habits connected
wish his work. This man specializes in
wild nature stories. yarns Ot mountain
ecrs and prospectors and miners. Some
OG his writing has a remarkable romantic
touch. In his letter to his publishers hs
wrote
Il love my work. but 80 do thousands
81 others in thousands Of other walks 81
life. ] don't know anything about in
spirltion' or moods or the creative
white heat or the artistic temperament
or any of those things. Hut ] can put
word Co word just ~ | can lay stone upon
stone in = wall.
SO far ss his habits are concerned. he
wrote that they are the same ne those of
eny ordinary man. IL he hspp~ns Co bs
away from his hotne. which ~ IN the
heart OF the mountains, he can writ"
uIiit. a. edectively. That fact dos no'
dirconcert him in the least. And u ~
~. = ,,,a With hun.lrssria 1f of her attthnrs
to-day.
la th.. ease 81 certain writer's. il - said
they can write well in one pL,ce and not
in others. They ara more cOtntortable
at home. perhaps.
Th. u.s., Of the typewriter IL interesting
tOo. Sorie of the best known popular
writers hang 0ut their own copy on a
ma chime and then have q revised by an
expert Ntenograp her SIiue dictate A.
once. Others stick To the pen becl'ise
they can think more "1sily and more
accurately.
This country knows no kindlier critic
or more energetic man 81 letters than
William Dean nowells. During the past
few ya5rs Mr.. Howell- has travelled
widely. contributing great deal 81
TO the newspapers and
ma@sEine-. Here IL a man who does has
own work and does u On schedule. He
mi Rhi raVe a lot of tim" n he dictated.
but thus he refuses ~ do.
Klttery Point. Ne his secretary had some
s.iTs pr. nts1. a. fOllOwa'
Mr. HowelIs ~ IN Europe and Il IL i'm
pract'cshl ~ reply Q" your embossed com
mun'CasiOu.
This was the ONLY WaN 10 gave Mr.
HOwell- a vacai ION.
NJ IIoWellS durin< hi- WORKING season
do.a most of his writ ng IA the early morn.
ing hours. he usnallv Keeps at work /
until noon aud he dOe~ not work IN the .
afternoon OF evening lie never dr-
Llsisss hia work. of on he tvpcNTate-, lind I
lnx thai 10 - easier TO do this than TO Use ,
the pen lie thinks too that there - an /
easier flow of thought 10y this method
IN his personal correspondence Mr.
Howells uss-s the pen h-cau-' he feeis
that old friends or DersODs OF the old
s~hool are apt to feel themseive- sighted
q the typrWriter ~ used
H. O. Wells lives and writes az his
home near Folkstons. England. This
spot - the nlns' peac''sui you could ina z
ne Mr. Wells between paragraphs
flIed with tremendous wars Of the worlds.
NAV gaze ont On qnst rural English
landscape :
He Eenerallv writes out a frs, copy ~
he book by his own hand and then has
This copy typeW Titten by his aecretary
Mr. Wells goes over this with great thor
Duahnss.. after " hich he sends IL TO the
publishers He corrects the proofs him
eli The result 81 this extr~ns and
cave ~ an easy ana stnooth
,fyIe and a fslcitous strength, which
comes only when word artist has Used
his patient skill
Those Who have read any novels by Rev
Reach. such as The silver Horde or The
SDoilsr..- may wonder how this author
an inject - much Alaskan colo- IN has
stories when he writes in his comfortable
NeN York home. rales ~ hunger. Of
,old. and of almost miraculous e-cape, can
ba written much better IN a warm. well
lighted roof,'. Mr. Beach ~ i"ks.
MIR Beach throws = youthful reck-
eSsneSr into his search for material tina.
IL probably not exceeded by any other
present day novelist. When he has So
-,Ired h,s information he takes his time
about getting home and writing IL. !
The notion that an author must be
near the sc.ne of action OF the story IN
1u. -tion - dispelled by dozens 81 ex-
asnples Tor instance, Mary wilkins
Freeman. who - known through her
hooks and short STORES Of New England
Tolks doesn't live anywhere near New
England. She ~ sides ia Metuchen. y. J.
There she writes a. nuently n ever Of
he EayOri;e characters which abe md the
public have learned to know - well.
Another woman in whom tho public
Is Interested II MarRar"' Ds.land. author
N The Awakening OF Helena Richie.
sba lives an RoefoD. hut Esaeka the asasrlI- II