The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-13
RATHER BE WRITER
 THAN AN ANGEL Kate Douglas Wiggin Gives
 Her Views WOMEN AS NOVELISTS Woman Has Greater Facility for Ex- pression Than Man-Creative Gift Must Be Inborn-Sex
 No Handicap

From the London Standard
 q would rather be writer than be an angel' Such are the views of Kate Douglas Wiggin CMrs. George c. Riggs). known to English readers as the author of Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch 'Penelope's Experiences "The Affair at the Inn," and as the author and joint dramatjser of "Rebecea of Sunnybrook Farm ss
 The obvious conclusion to be drawn from the above remark is that Mrs. Wiggin's experience has convinced her that sex IS no barrier to success in the field or novel writing, and the author herself empha- sized this fact yesterday afternoon, when interviewed by representative or 'sWomans Platform"
 DO I think sex a handicap when one comes to write a book? Why, certainly not It is my opinion that such thing as sex disability Is s,mply non-existent where fiction writing is concerned. Your work is taken on it's merits, by the pup fisher in the first instance and by others into whose hands it falls in the natural course of events. My opinion is based, of course, on my own experience But 1 do think there is tendency to imagine that to take a masculine name gives one a better chance of success, however much the feminine touch may be apparent In the work When the dramatised version of my book, 'Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm was about to be produced In America several well wishers suggested that the adoption of masculine name might be conducive to it's success; if was urged that the general tendency was 10 cavil at play written by woman, and 1t appears to me that people rather take the existence of such an attitude too much for granted.
 "Possiby that may be one reason why women have not attained front rank Tn the journalistic profession along with men that and the fact that women amongst the rank and file of journalists do not prepare themselves for their work with quite the same thoroughness as men. For that reason perhaps the woman or ordi- nary ability who turns to novel writing has better chance of success than a man. Women appear to possess the gift Of natural expression, and they are iess self conscious and deal with their emo tions more simply and directly than men, and these characteristics all help to- wards the attainment of rather easy and flowing style which appeals to the general reader.
 But while I think a woman has greater facility for expression than man 1t does not necessarily follow tnat she can therefore write.
 "The creative gift must be inborn; no amount of so-calied training can instill
 1t into mind from whose composition it was wholly absent in the beginning. On the other hand, once 1t Is there, 1t will out and given the gift, the ultimate success or failure of the possessor to produce really first class work is depend- ent on the education and cultivation Of the mind. s,s .s. ! l
 "I should not say that clever women turn from journalism to fiction, simply because I think the cast of mind neces- sary to each profession is wholly dif- ferent. If woman has the journalistic instinct in her. journalist she will be and my own idea Is that as long as so many women devote their energies to writing social correspondence. culinary articles. and so forth so long will the idea prevail that when woman does really good work the fact of sex Is not taken into account