The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-02-07
By F. A. mitchell


"What we want" said the manag-
ing editor, "in our serials Is plot. We
must have our characters or some one
of them at the end of an installment
hanging over precipice Il thousand
feet deep, TO be rescued i'm the next
tumbled overheard in midocean, left
10 drown, rescued again, etc. And you
needn't bring it all out happily in the
end Kill the hero If you like. There's
Tess of the D'Urbervllles, who was
strung up at the end of the story, and
the whole world read 1t and wept over
it, Big sales, large profits"
you want ii true 10 life, don't your"
Truth Is stranger than fiction. IL
you'll strike plot that every one says
couldn't possibly have happened you'll
get a selling story. The critics will
call it rot but the people will want
TO read it. Try to do something
startling. My object is TO put the
paper on its feet. Many n newspaper
has been made by an ingenious serial"
l had no confidence In the papers
being established by any serial could
write, however improbable / should
make ii, and | told Heaton so, but he
instructed. He had no more time to
talk about the matter. you know
what we want" he said; ego and do
It,"
/ puzzled for n considerable time
over n plot. but could invent nothing
original Then ii occurred to me that
there is nothing original except i'm real
incidents that occur from time to time,
and even these repeat themselves.
After all, the novel Heaton had quote
had nothing startling in the plot II
was the writing of ii and the tragedy
ut the end. | determined to be con-
tent with commonplace plan and
rely on hanging somebody to do the
rest. | would drag in all the horrid
details of IN execution. and | hoped
in this way to serve the managing edi-
tors purpose TO n limited extent In
order 10 make the story more harrow
ing j determined that the man who
dangled at the end of rope should
be the innocent victim of circum-
stances.
IIaycroft was my hero, Gwendolin
Montclaveries my heroine. They
loved IIaycroft was n distant con-
nection TO n millionaire who was a
bachelor. and. since Haycroft was the
only child of several generations of
older children descending from the
millionaire's only brother Tor sister,
for that natter, in case the million
airc died without will Haycroft would
inherit all his property. Pitblado, the
william of the story, also loves Gwen
dolin, and | must invent some plan for
him TO get Haycroft out of the way.
1t was very easy for me to kill the
rich man under suspicious circum-
stances-at least | had Pitblado manu-
facture the circumstances went
TO show that HaycrOft had poisoned
the old gentleman to get his money.
The ingenuity required was to weave
a lot of circumstances that would con-
Wet Haycrcft and yet he must be in
nocent.
Nothing very original about that, you
say. Well, if there is any originality
in the matter at all j didn't supply IL.
Fate lays all the plots for stories, and
all we scribblers do is TO write them
up. Nevertheless, though / didn't
know it, l was doing the biggest job
of my life. And do you know while |
thought / was writing blood and
thunder love tragedy was turning
bitterness and gall in real household
into n great happiness.
The story was coming out, the in
stalments appearing once a week
had convicted the hero, and me was
waiting the result of an appeal which
/ intended to have denied by mer-
CHESS judge. i was writing the de-
scription of the hanging and intended
MS soon as ii was over TO drive the
heroine insane and conclude with her
shrieks dying away gradually as doors
were closing behind her in a mad
house. The issue of the paper had APP
peared containing an explanation of
that chain Of circumstances which had
convicted the murderer Though they
were not TO save him, felt bound to
show my Skill I'm finding n key to them
which IL brought to light would save
the victim. But, relying as / did on a
double tragedy ut the end, I proposed
to bring out the key when IL was too
late to do any good. You see. didn't
intend TO spoil the tragic effect by be-
Ing chicken hearted. especially as the
people involved were merely creatures
OF my own brain. Besides, remem-
bered the instructions of the manag-
Ing editor. and l was to attract the
attention OF the reading public, which
increases the circulation of the paper
and brings In the advertisements. the
ultimate object of the whole thing.
About week after the appearance
OF the issue containing the explana-
tion OF the incidents that had proved
Haycroft guilty, while was engaged
writing the removal of Gwendolin to
n madhouse, servant knocked Mt nv
door to say that n man was downstairs
who wished to see me.
Get out OF here" cried, "and tell
the man TO get out too! I'm doing
work that must not be interrupted"
The maid went away and returned