Evening star., 1928-03-17
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES g. TRACEWELL.

fully. BY this one would not mean
Some persons write their best rapidly.
Others do better by making careful out
lines OF what they want to say. It Is
all a. matter OF temperament Some
write best by just plunging in. They
make their own outline as they 90
along, or rather the subject naturally
flows into the right channels as the
writer writes. Such q person has a
i, right to lay claim to being a natural
writer.
There Is another sort of writer, either
Of letters or In other forms, who must
work more carefully. building UP his
thought In advance. then adherins
scrupulously to his plan. He. too, will
achieve much II he sticks to his own
way Of writing. What might seem like
haste to him, as he contemplates the
others method. in reality is not haste
at all. from the viewpoint Of the other
but is simply the normal method Just
as there are no two persons exactly
alike in appearance, so there will be
| no two who have exactly the same
methods when 1t comes to writing.
Women no doubt make the best let
ter writer's. as general rule. We
refer here to rank and file of CORE
spOndents, whose letters will never be
published. Women are not obSeSsed with
vague ideas OF dignity. which pervade
the minds OF most men after they
reach certain age. Women harbor
no. theoretical notions as to whether
a subject is worthy" or not. Their
only criterion Is whether something in
terestS them. II so. then 1t is worth
writing about. So they string out q
letter page after page. rambling around
from one subject TO another. yet with
the whole closely knit together by the
binding tie Of their own personal in
terest.
The result of this Is that the reader
whether man or woman. catches some
thing OF this spirit, and succumbs to
the lure OF the letter that Is written
because the writer was interested. The
nrst rule OF letter writing, 1t would
SEEM is that the writer must be ac-
tually and genuinely interested in what
he Is writing about.
The second reason why women write
the best modern letters, and why they
are responsible for the fact that the
art Of letter writing Is not a lost art
Is that they are keener to appreciate
and quicker to express their likes and
dislikes than men.
or ten men who say. THAT 1. A
dandy article. must write the author
ana tell him So" not one will ever
DO 1t. or ten women who saw the
same thing, at least two will sit down
Immediately and write. while probably
Two more will write within the week
Men. being dreamers, mean well. hut
100 often fail TO do as we'll as thev
mean. Women. being intensely prac-
ticaf creatures, normally do what thev
determine TO do.
Tnus women, besides doing daily all
tneir work (Which is. as has been said
never donel, md time to keep alive
,h the and the beautiful business of
ietter writing. And by "the business of
letter writing" one does not mean busi. +.
ness letters. OF course. Such letters
Wnne necessity. too often are un-
necessarily crude and boorish in their
stflct business conciScness. II you have
ever received a typical business letter
you WIN understand. The real letters
OF winch We speak are the Ieisurclv
unnurried. happy letters written bv
tnose who like to use good paper. who
nlay use seal and sealing wax who
.eeI tnat there Is something magic
aoout the written word-as indcer,
shere a--and who insist on making q
" Noor or love. not q tiresome nec.ss
sity To be scrambled through with
somehow or other How long ha. n
oeen since you smelled the pleasant
aroma OF wax. or sealed a letter with
YOUR own initials?