The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-03-14

development OF scales tones and In.
tervals among different peoples. You
know I used to sing In choirs and quar-.
tets out In Illinois, was brought up on
Theodore Thomas orchestra and came
near being light opera singer. SO her.
was my chance TO work in something
had wanted to write about for long
time. gave me a plausible mission fol
my hero and. ] thought, was interesting
enough in itself to hold the reader.
was spending the summer up at Scituate.
Mass. so found II easy TO go into Boston
and ferret round the library, looking for
books on musical scales and on musical
instruments. There was q man In the
library who knew volumes of the kind
Of stun wanted and he brought me IL
the way OF one of the most Interesting
books I've ever seen. a book on Indian
music.
We'll. I'd got my theme and my hero
take him to China. Now ! found my
self up against the well known difi
culties of unity of time and space and
point of view. These are the hardest
snags the writer encounters. | wanted
my hero TO be able to jump from this
place to that, to skip several days now
and then. and all without having to take
time TO explain as one must In order t.
make a novel run along smoothly. So
d clded TO write II In the arst person
Journal form. This obviated need o.
explanation of changes of place or scene
just explained Itself. II obviated need OF
breaking the story into chapters, JUS
made its own chapters. And that's q
bls ssirG, for chapters can enslave writers
make them work unconsciously for a Sc,
length. for regular clockwork climaxes
And the Journal form simplifies the great
est difficulty OF all-keeping straight,
untangled point Of view. ~ course ]
don't mean that It's easier to write. FOL
the motives of all the different char
acters must all he worked out 80 as to
harmonizs with the dlarist's comprehen
sion at his time OF narration. Rut this
working out Is what makes the narration
nee. ssarily flow smoothly and logically.
Working out these motives Is big
piece OF mechanical work which always
DO completely before | attempt writing
the story. sit a. my desk for hours
formulating and tearing up papo7. And
often. I'm the process. the story gets
changed completely from my original CON
cvp,ion OF 1t. This happened IN the case
OF Anthony a writer nearly always
has a lot of ideas stewing In his head.
each OF which he probably thinks Is a
story in Itself But when he gets down
| 10 brass lacks he often finds that II nts
| better when tackled on to some other
| idea, just one ingredient And the whole
mess OF ingredients hns to cook long
| time before the author himself realizes
J lust what they are and what they are
| going TO become in the cooking process
| That's why I'm learning that Bennett was
RICH; when he said man can't write
novels until he's forty"
Mr. Merwln has plenty OF ideas cookins
| in his head at the present. He doesn
know exactly what form ths next novel
! NAV take 1t may centre on certain
phases Of the divorce problem. Then !,
| may not. There are so many things that
are holding his tremendous Interest, vari'
| Gus slants on human relations that us
a pretty hard =. OPPOSITION to decide which
| IL would be more fascinating to WORK out
| And Mr. Nerwin maintains that this kind
| OF work Is fascinating. even though one
does get bored now and then having tt
work out mechanically those motives
unities and things.