Evening star., 1932-08-06
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES +. TRACEY ELL.

stance, may indulge in some constant
trivial action which Is. nevertheless
interesting material from the stand
point of others is regarded by the VIC
tim as unfair. -.r sue -
The chances are that most people
who unwittinglys find" themselves IN
works of fiction are incensed at the re-
suit. although the portrait may be quite
a striking one. and one which does JUS
tiCe to the model ....
It Is a real tribute to an author II he
is able to see the truly interesting
traits of human beings and then put
them on paper so that these shadows
retain some Of the essential interest
which first intrigued him.
1t may look easy but it is one OF the
most difficult of writing tasks: the
novelist who achieves success with no
more plot than q rabbit has done
more. in q sense than the man who
happens to be gifted with the old-fash-
ioned f1air for clever entrances and
exits. the Intervening of threads" and
so OIL.
The plOtlesS novel, II one may call
it that, works itself out just as life
works itself out Most readers OF
books have always felt. in the back Of
their heads. that there was something
artificial, and unreal in the way things
happened in some Of the worlds great
est stories. a' ".r
This structure In no sense takes away
from the greatness of such books; it
merely expresses the sense Of ARTIFICIAL
ity which undoubtedly characterizes
many of our classic expressions In the
novel form. L..s.Hi
This business of bringing one char
acter or group Of characters. up TO
certain point. then leaving them for q
hundred pages. in order to bring some
more characters to the same point, Is
book stuff, rather than the stuff OF
real life. ... -~-
Affairs In real life do not always
work out 50 neatly The hero does not
appear at Just the right moment: ne
mas fall down the stairs, and be carted
away 10 the hospital In real life.
whereas in the old-fashiOned work OF
fiction he was meyer known TO slip up
at Just the wrong time In other words
the reader. although perhaps uneon-
scioslsly. got the idea that things were
happening. no. because they did hap
pen SO. but because the writer decreed
them to happen SO for perfectly good
reasons of plot, which he called in
terest."
The rebellion against this sort of
thing came with the various "realist
and "naturaliSt' schools OF fiction. TO
various forms Of which many OF our
modern noveliStS belong. whether they
admit their adherence or not.
1t was seen that II the genuine in
tereSt In types is there, to begin with.
human beings alone are Sufrclent TO
make work of fiction "go." .,'-.
Plot. in the old-fasf1iOned sense, need
not be thrown overheard, but 1t Is not
an essential, and only the greatest
stickler among readers will demand II.
A GOOD story is the demand, and 1t
has been, discovered by most modern
read. .rs that a human being, and espe-
cially a collection Of human beings, may
be a good story.
A aood story. that is. II the author
possesses. in the FIRST place. appreela-
ton, observation and an underStano-
ing of the psychology OF interest; ana,
in the second place, if he is the pos
SCISSOR of the power to use words 10
create living. character.
Many writer who can use words
in other ways in capable fashion ialls
down. here. The ability to weave words
10. stand. for, men. and women. and 10
make the reader, see them as men ana
women rather than mere collections OIL
words. Is not given, to every human
being, - although sometimes It WouIo
seem as if every human being elther
Thought he possessed that ability or AT
least hankered to have it. &
Aliveness is the quality which the
good story presents above everything
else. Whether it tells much OF
story" or not, its men and women
must be alive. and so impress tne
reader. Il they are. ne VIII leeI tiiat
he has read good novel, Juogeo ny
the standards of 1882.