The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-05-17
Your Favorite Author May Not Seem
So Wonderful After You've Seen
Him at Work. London An
swers, Says.
DEEMS ARE STRANGE
Places Where the Genius Works are
Not as Romantic as the Stories
Turned Out-Not Always
Original.

You have your favorite author, of
course? And you would deem it high
honor to be permitted to enter his or
her den and watch genius'at work?
! Seek not that honor, admonishes a
writer in London Answers. The
chances are that you'll be disillu-
stoned.
i l have been into a widely known
writer's den--a den" it was, literally!
and my taste for his book has gone.
! On the floor were, at a guess, thous-
ands Of used matches, and about
hundredweight of pipe "knockings.
II counted seventy-three squeezed up
balls of paper-the rejected beginnings
of stories. There may have been
some ends, too, but those I unrolled
were beginnings"
And l thought that my author
turned his STUFF out like-like water
from a tap. The knowledge that he
wrote, and rewrote, and touched up,
and revised, and revised and then did
it all over again was shock.
He-I am under pledge not to dis
close his identity-writes of the open
air and the blowing winds, and SO on,
but his den reeked of stale tobacco
smoke and there wasn't a cubic foot
of fresh air in it. The windows
were shut, and shut permanently. He
told me that he couldn't stand fresh
air, and begged me to close the door
and push bolster against the bottom.
Pipes lay everywhere and within easy
reach was big box full or matches.
Thousands of them!
A draft screen was around his writ
ing table, and it was covered with
pinned up pieces of paper. looked
at one and read: Said, observed,
Irejoined, replied, suggested, answered.
countered. snapped, retorted, asked
For dialogue" said my author,
Cant keep on saying she said and
'replied he.' Just ring the changes,
Won know. That little list is useful,
l can tell you"
Alas, for my illusions!
There was another list-with girls
names. Scrawled hieroglyphics
against some denoted that they had
been used in such and such a story,
which had gone to a certain editor on
a certain date. So Belinda" las my
author explained) was barred in that
direction for few months. And l
thought that my authors heroines'
names sprang to his romantic brain
with bubbling spontaneity. And 70
think that he uses them on rota
sort of system!
Pinned on the walls 1 saw stories
ripped out of various perlod1caIs.
Here and there on them was heavy
blue pencil mark.
was greatly relieved to hear that
he didn't intend to "prig any story
Wholesale. The marked bit, he ex-
planned, held the germ of an idea that
he would work up" some day. 1t
suggested a decent sort OF plot
Another illusion gone. l wouid
have sworn that my authors ideas
were his very own.
Other pieces of paper pinned to the
wall held scrubbed memoranda Tor
stories "Girl-ward in chancery-
mistakes guardians son for guardian
consent marriage. Loves
-sacrifices-fnds she loves faith
err"
7 could have wept I remembered
that particular story, and had palpl-
tated over it. And there was its hor-
rid beginning stuck on wall!
On the floor lay a shilling dictlon-
airy. and l stopped to pick it up.
Don't move that pleased" he snap
ned Couldn't get on without it!
Why? Spelling and synonyms! An
that reminds me! Just look up 'lr-
resistible,' will your"
/ obliged, and he scrubbed on for
2 while. Then his brow puckered,
and he snatched the dictionary up.
.'Writin' a plotty yarn he ex-
blamed. Want a variation on
scheme, plan, plot All. project
has it," n.
where's the scene laid?' win
ouired He named the spot, and like
an ass, l asked him if he had been
there.
Good heavens, no." he replied, and
pointed to collection of local guide
books on shelf.
1t was the last straw.