Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-29
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

the slowing up Of the action than dis
like of the characters themselves.
Novel action may be slow, moderate
or quick, but in any case 1t has its
tempo, and anything which hinders this
pace is a detriment in the eyes of the
reader who desires to read right along.
The action" of a story does not
necessarily mean physical action. It
may be entirely mental or even spirit
ual, but whatever it is it must be it
self. So much is fundamental
There is no good reader who Is not
able to point out in almost any novel
he reads, no matter by what master,
which scenes could be cut with benefit,
which long speeches removed, which
characters and scenes omitted.
The stage Is not the only place where
of course, what the 'talkies" cit used
to be the ''movies'') can do to a novel
when they put it on the screen.
A recent example is that Of Burnett's
Little Caesar" in which the screen
version followed the novel to a great
extent, but differed in a great many
details. Those familiar with the book
were often quite puzzled for the reasons
behind certain changes and omissions
The stage (and in this grouping we
include the f1lms) has the advantage
Of close touch with the audience OBJ
servers in the auditorium and behind
the curtain can tell more or less ex-
actly the reactions of the public.
This is a benefit which the written
word must lack. The only revision
which a work of fiction receives is that
which may be ordered by the publisher
or suggested by him before the novel Is
published.
Once between covers novel has
taken on definite shape forever. Even
readers will rise to its defense in case
a condensed version is put on the mar
ket. at is a dissertation Of q great
work" they say, heatedly.
X X X
The truth is that many a celebrated
novel might be revised to its benefit,
especially in regard to the flow Of ac-
ton, which, after all, must continue to
be the chief cause for being.
Fiction is story telling, let us never
forget that. Whereas it is no longer
customary for q teller of tales to speak
them before a crowd Of persons, 1t has
become common all over the world for
writer's to tell their tales In books,
magazines and newspapers.
All the world loves a story, whether
1t be true story or tale based on
imagination. And what it loves chiefly
in all Of them is the action, the move
ment, the sense OF something happen
ing which so many thousands of per-
sons miss in their own daily lives
Man was born to action, but civiliza-
ton often subdues him to dull round
of commonplace activities which can
scarcely be called such.
The novel permits him to move out
OF his accustomed spheres for the actual
duration of the book. He no longer Is
clerk; he becomes one with q rover
or sits in the seats of the daring.
Anything which binders him is Just
so much waste. Characters which irk
him, long speeches which make him
wish he did not have to listen to them,
are just so much let and hindrance.
Skip them, then? Never! He who
skipS Is lost. Every novel should have
the benefit of criticism by sensitive
readers and Of proper revision by au-
thors After all, not very much would
have to be done, but it would mean a
great deal