South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-08-20
Writing
The Thriners
By Fred c. Kelly.

/ on one of the Hearst newspapers
/ Hopkins got into that line through
an odd impulse. He was working as
one Of the editors of a paper down in
| Tennessee at the time Edward w.
| Carmack, editor of the Nashville Ten
nessean, was shot and killed in the
midst of a political feud. Ii was a
| ticklish time 10 be editor of a paper
! in Tennessee. Any editor who took
sides in the feud too strongly ran the
| risk Of having some radical member
of the opposite faction come in and
muss up the office with editorial life
blood. So Hopkins reasoned it out
like this:
why engage in such risky and SAN
culinary occupation as newspaper
work? Hencefoith I shall do all my
adventuring on paper. I'll retire to a
comfortable fiat and write Of killings
and intrigues but that is as near TO
actual excitement as 1 myself shall
venture in future"
He resigned his place on the paper
that day before the impulse should
leave him, went to New York and be-
gan writing what the publishers called
their Adventure Series. These run
$4,000 words each and Hopkins has
been producing them weekly. He is
said TO work almost constantly for
about four days until his weekly task
IL
the week on his hands with nothing to
do but eat. play and make up his
sleep.
Hopkins works are more preten-
tious looking than the "Old Sleuth" or
Nick Carter" series. They come in
regular book size and sell for Is cents.
Many of his stories are based on per-
sonal experience. One Is founded on
facts about Chinese tongs that he
lao I'd nh rnCnRNfln
Chinese leader in New York. was suing
a newspaper publisher for libel Hop
kins did some scouting about among
the Chinese for the publisher and
heard many weird facts about a
Chinese villain who made a business
of killing folks for anybody who want
ed a given person out of the way and
was willing to pay for the service.
/ This villain-nOW serving life SEN
tence in the penitentiary at Charles
town, Mass.-is the central figure OF
one OF Hopkins stories.
Another author of the blood-and-
| thunder school for many years has
been George Rathborne, who passes
! on all manuscripts for one of the two
| leading publishers Of this class of lit
erature and also writes Indian adven-
! lures.
Certain we'll defined rules govern
/ the writing of nickel thrillers. In the
/ first place, every story must point a
moral. The detective must overtake
| the villains in the end and the latter
must face speedy retribution. Then
each chapter must start with a thrill
and end with a thrill. For example,
an ordinary novel writer might start
off with the statement that:
1T was May, and an UNMARRIED pail
Of feecy cloud muffed the whole ex-
panse of sky from zenith to horizon.
Petals OF sweet scented apple bios
SONS fell like snowflakes along the
winding roadway that led from village
out to the old manor house of the
Mainwarings."
But the producer of five-cent thrills
must begin his chapter something
like this:
{" MY God! she cried. as she arose
from her couch and stared at the
window with a look OF horror. There
is that face again. 1t is he. Oh, will
no one save me?'"
The same chapter might end in this
| fashion:
real murderer. starting back in amaze
ment.
81 am known as Old Sleuth. the
! detective replied our hero. in a calm.
| even tone. And the man sank back
with a gasp OF despair"
The chapters must be short, too. in
order 10 keep up constant process
sion of sensations throughout the mar
\ rative Most of the writers of the
/ thriller school have their typewriting
/ machines supplied with a little device
such as telegraph operators use, which
records the exact number OF words.
Then whenever the writer finds that
/ he has written 500 words or more OF
a chapter he knows that it is time to
I M
autOst about to take a grade.
I This word Indicator also serves to
| notify the writer when the story itself
must be brought TO a close. The man
uscripts must not vary more than zoo
\ or 500 words. as the publishers ar
range for the same number OF pages
/ each week Hence, when the writer
\ finds himself within thousand words
\ or so of his limit, as indicated by the
| little dial. he wots well that IL is high
/ time TO round up every outlying villain
not already brought TO justice and
/ work I'D to the eliminating thrill OF
\ the whole adventure.
AS an additional mechanical aid.
/ some nickel novel writers keep card
/ index OF thrills. Let US suppose the
writer thinks Of using the appearance
+ of a bandit behind a bowlder as the
/ closing sensation Of chapter XII. He
/ looks at his card index and finds that
/ the bandit rom-behind-rOck thrill was
used in story he wrote only six
I weeks previous. So he runs through
\ the cards and finds thrill that he
/ has noted down, but which has never
\ been used-the discovery OF dying
man in the roadway with the missing
papers in his inside coat pocket tie
| considers also another thrill or two
u that he hasn't used for more than q
year. and finally selects the one that
/ seems TO dovetail most neatly into his
/ Immediate needs.
The most difficult thing, the writers
! say. is the selection OF a title-the sort
OF title that will make people stop
/ at the news stands with a keen desire
| TO know further particulars. Not in
/ frequently the title Will be the last
! thing supplied TO the story.
In order 20 produce 80, 900 or 50.OOf
words a week the author cannot take
I time for revision OF manuscript. Yet
the original typewriter manuscript OF
a blood and-thunder narrative, just al
the writer ground IL out. page by
! page, is usually as good copy as g