INDEX

A Abbreviations to be avoided in verse, 247 Abstract qualities to be gauged, 25 Alexander, Mrs., Burial of Moses, 75 Allen, James Lane, and local colour, 176 Allingham, Wm., poem by, 170 Allusions, hackneyed, 155 Amateurs, what they need to cultivate and avoid, 47 Amateurs, two classes of, 139 Amateurs copying unawares, 203 Amateurs and marriage offers in stories, 209 Amateurs' lack of first-hand knowledge, 198 Ambiguity, avoid, 157 American writers and local colour, 174, 175 Ancient facts undesirable except in text-book, 149 Angel Court, Austin Dobson, 290 Anthologies, verse, 75, 76 Antiquated expressions, 52 Arnold, Matthew, 75 Article, settle object in writing it, 147 Articles that are not wanted, 151; big subjects to be avoided, 155; "How to ——," editors overdone with, 154; which fail, 138; useful divisions, 136; ruled by form, 136; on subjects already dealt with, 153; study type of, in magazine you are writing for, 152; must be sent to editors in time, 150; must be topical, 150; starting in the middle, 147 Artist and detail, 100 Artist's fragments, an, 167 Artistic atmosphere, 178 Artistic training and literary first attempts, 4, 98-100 "Atmosphere," healthy and otherwise, 181; as a time saver, 180 Atmospheric purpose of story writer, 89 Audience, settle on your, 126 Austen's, Jane, old-world "atmosphere," 184 Author's aim to help readers God-ward, 293 Authors must have something in their heads to write down, 11 Authorship compared with dressmaking, 5, 7 B Baby prattle in amateur verse, 239 Barclay, Mrs., White Ladies of Worcester, 41; The Rosary, 210 Barrie, Sir J., and dialect, 195 Barrie, Sir J., short stories, 91; Window in Thrums, 224 Beautiful thoughts do not guarantee beautiful writing, 98 Begin in the middle, 147 Be natural, 48, 106 Benson, Dr. A. C., 65 Big subjects to be avoided, 154 Birrell, Augustine, 65 Blackmore and local colour, 174 Blue pencil to be used by writer rather than editor, 252 "Body," needed in writing, 123 Bolshevism in literature, 291 Booksellers as readers, 118 Books that shriek, 38 Books which survive. Why? 29 Boothby, Guy, and proof corrections, 223 Boudoir stories, 206 Brain misuse, nature's revenge for, 36 British Weekly, for style, 56 Broad Highway, The, "atmosphere" of, 184 Browning, Mrs. and Christina Rossetti, 76 Browning, Mrs., "Sonnets from the Portuguese," 244 Browning's Paracelsus, 71; "rough-hewn" method, 70 Bryant and Longfellow, 76, 77 Bullock, Shan F., and local colour, 174 By-gone models of amateurs, 209 C Cable, George, 176 Cabmen, article on, 113 Callers on editors, 274 Canton, William, 42 Caricature is not characterisation, 142 Carlyle's "rough-hewn" method, 70 Cataloguing instead of art, 140 Causes of actions to be studied, 27 Central idea, necessary to story, 79 Character delineation needed in love-stories, 215 Characterisation is not caricature, 142 Characters in story, values of, 84; should not be multiplied unduly, 220; should explain themselves, 216, 219; to be introduced early, 219 Chatterton, 269 Cheap books, the flood of, 38 Chesterton, G. K., paradoxes of, 165 Children, mistakes of writers for, 127 Chimney-pot, evolution of the, 43 Chimney-pots, Ruskin's chapter on, 44 Choate, Joseph H., on Dickens, 231 Choose topic from your own environment, 200 Clarity, aim for, 161 Classics, our purpose on reading them, 111, 112 Clarke, Charles Heber, 293 Cleanness should be made attractive, 295 Cleverness must not be obtrusive, 109 Climax, do not anticipate, 228 Climax in article, 147 Climax, never lose sight of, 89 Coleridge's Kubla Khan, 75, 170 Colloquialisms, avoid, 195 Condensation, need of, 106 Condensation never spoils beginner's work, 257 Contrasts, incidents inserted in stories as, 86 Copy, universal tendency to, 202 Copying unrecognised by amateurs, 203 Country of the Pointed Firs, The, 224 Craddock, Chas. Egbert, and local colour, 176 Cranford, 184, 201 Creating an "atmosphere," 185 Creation and copying, 203 Criticise your own work, 129 Criticism, editors have no time for, 9 Crockett, S. R., and dialect, 195 Curtailment of sentences may be carried to excess, 50 "Curtains" are sound business, 229 "Curtains," Dickens', 231 "Curtains" necessary for serial publication, 231 Cut down your MSS., 253 Cynic really gets nowhere, 30 D Dante, why we read, 111, 112 David and Jonathan, 155 Defects overlooked by fame, 124 Delay in editorial decision on MSS., 276 Delete superfluities in your MS., 254 Dénouement as a surprise, 213, 225 Detail, knowledge of, imperative, 21; study of, 100; too much, 92, 140 Devices to reach editors, 283 Dialect an extra mental strain on reader, 194; requires exceptional skill, 195 Diary form of story, 191 Dickens, Charles, an adept at "curtains," 231 Dickens, central ideas of, 79 Diffusiveness, 106 Divine discontent, 197 Dobson, Austin, Angel Court, 290 Does the public want it? The publisher's question, 267 Dog, the real, 19 Doll heroines, 26 Dombey and Son in U. S. A., 231 Dream Days, Kenneth Graham, 224 Dreams of youth valuable, 235 Dressmaking and authorship, 5, 7 Dull book not wanted by anyone, 295 Dulness not necessary to goodness, 294 E Earle, Mabel, Valley Song, 248 Eccentricity will not secure permanent interest, 122 Editorial routine, 283 Editors do not purchase MS. because first attempt, 263; have no time to criticise and advise, 280; only buy what pays to publish, 264; take time to read MSS., 276; unmoved by irrelevant appeals, 261 Emotionalism, 184 Emotions of author not always interesting, 220 Ending, a happy one best, 226 Entertaining, every book should be, 128 Environment and circumstances to be studied, 19 Environment, your own, as your subject, 200 Every generation allows special characteristics of speech, 49 Exclusive information necessary, 45 Extracts, lavish use undesirable, 161 Expressions, antiquated, 52 F Facts, ancient, to be omitted, 150 Facts needed, 21 Fame overlooking defects, 124 Farnol, Jeffrey, and old-world "atmosphere," 184 Feeding the brain with snippets, 37 Fiction, monotonous character of MSS., 80 Fiction, "strong," 287 Field, Eugene, Limitations of Youth, 249 "Fiona Macleod," 171 First attempts rarely acceptable, 102 First attempts in literature compared with art and music, 4 First-hand knowledge, need of, 198 First-person limitations, 188 Forest of Wild Thyme, Alfred Noyes, 250 Form as applied to articles, 136 Formless fragments, 167 Fragments, 166 Framework of story, 82 Freak writings cannot be forecasted, 268 G Garden of Verses, a Child's, R. L. Stevenson, 250 Genius, mistaken ideas of, 4 Genius scarce, 13 Gloom manufacture is wrong, 227 Glow-worms as a hat-trimming, 153 God-ward help in literature, 293 Golden Age, Kenneth Graham, 224 Goodness does not excuse dulness, 295 Gosse, Dr. Edmund, 65 Graham, Kenneth, Golden Age and Dream Days, 224 Grandmothers in amateur fiction, 210 Gray's Elegy, 67 Green, Dr. S. G., and Pickwick Papers, 232 "Grip" needed for selling, 117 "Grit" necessary in a novel, 122 H Hackneyed phrases, 155 Healthiness, authors should aim at, 292 Healthiness should be made desirable, 295 Hearn, Lafcadio, and local colour, 174 Heroine, the rose-petal, 209 Hiawatha's appeal to children, 250 "How to ——" articles overdone, 154 Human characteristics to be studied, 18 Human heart, pivot of great stories, 28 Hysterical "atmosphere," 184 I Idea, original, lost, 160; ornate language cannot cover lack of, 160; starting, forgotten by amateurs, 126; the central, 79, 81 Ideas and words, 59; as varied as human nature, 81; more important than rhapsodies, 236 "Imaginative writing," 162 Immoral fiction, 288 Improbabilities, 162 Inaccuracy in detail fatal to success, 23 Incidents should not be crowded, 220 Income expected without training, 4 Indefinite style to be avoided, 150 Ingelow, Jean, 75 Inner workings of mind and heart to be studied, 26 Interest readers, the need to, 116 Interviews with editors undesirable, 272 Introductions to editors useless, 270 Invisible Playmate, 42 Involved sentences, 159 Isolation foolish for an author, 31 J Jacobs, W. W., and local colour, 173 James, Henry, long sentences of, 165 Jewett, Sarah Orne, 176; Country of Pointed Firs, 224 Journalists as models for the amateur, 57 K Kernahan, Coulson, 65 Keynote of story, 79 Kipling, Rudyard, and local colour, 174; short stories, 91; "The Recessional," 75 Kipling's "Cat that walked by itself," 142; varied styles, 104 Know your characters, 29 "Kubla Khan," 75, 170 L Lady of the Decoration, 194 Lady of the Lake, 173 Landscape painting, 178 Language, pleasing, 71 Learning must not be obtrusive, 108 Leave off when finished, 147 Length of story must be considered, 134 Letters, story in the form of, 193 Life ever offering new discoveries, 29 Literary student at disadvantage compared with students of arithmetic, 6 Literature, an elusive business, 7; good, what constitutes it, 7; intangible, 8 Little, Frances, Lady of the Decoration, 194 Little Women, 201 Local colour and American authors, 174 Local colour subordinate to personality, 28 Locality should be known to story writer, 220 Longfellow, Bryant and Swinburne, 76, 77 Lovers' outpourings in amateur verse, 239 Love-story difficult for amateur, 211, 224 Love-story, need for character delineation, 215 Love-stories outlets for girls' emotions, 221 M Magazine is a business proposition, 264 Main theme should make universal appeal, 27 Major, Charles, 184 Mannerisms not tolerated, 164 "Mark Twain" and preacher, 251 Marriage offers in amateur stories, 207 "Max Adder's" humour helpful, 293 Men and women as they really are, 29 Mental "atmosphere," conveying our own, 187 Mental food needed, 12 Mental indigestion, 37 Metrical composition, laws to be studied, 235 Meynell, Alice, "Song," 238 Minor details in stories, two purposes of, 86 Mitford, Miss, Our Village, 185 Modern English seldom used by amateur, 48 Modern style gained by reading modern stuff, 54 Modernity of style desirable, 50 Money-making should not alone be object in writing, 148 Monotony fatal to success, 120 Moral books should be as well-written as nasty ones, 295 Morley, Viscount, and prize poem, 73 Motif important, 81 Motives that prompt actions, 26, 27 MSS., proportion of accepted, 3 MSS. rejected, reasons why, 10, 148, 197 MSS. should be typed, 278 Music and art compared with literature, 4, 5, 6, 132 N Nature dissertations in amateur verse, 239 Nature and mind, effects of nutriment, 11 Nature's revenge for misuse of brain, 36 Negatives, double, 159 New reliable matter will find acceptance, 46 Newspaper leading articles for style, 54 Notes of observations, 17, 20, 21 Novel, "grit" necessary for, 122 Novel, three-volume, 132 Novel, wedding need not be chief aim of, 80 Novelty desirable, 120 Novice must train himself, 6 Noyes, Alfred, 75, 250 O Object, be sure of your, 127 Observation saves from pitfalls, 22 Observation to begin just where you are now, 32 Obvious not the whole of the story, the, 26 Old-fashioned style not wanted to-day, 52 Old-world "atmosphere," 183 Omar Khayyám, pessimistic "atmosphere" of, 184 One-sided view of life due to isolation, 31 Other people's brain-work not acceptable, 46 Originality necessary, 46 Originality not peculiarity, 164 Original work is rare, 202 Our Admirable Betty, "atmosphere" of, 184 Our Village, Miss Mitford, 185 Out-doory "atmosphere," 185 P Padding stories, 85 Painting, three-part basis of, 132 Peculiarity not originality, 164 Peculiarity will not secure permanent interest, 122 Pedantic style, avoid, 161 People, study of, needed, 30 "Personal" marking does not carry to editor, 283 Personal outlook of readers, 119 Pessimism manufacture is criminal, 292 Pessimistic "atmosphere," 184 Pett Ridge and local colour, 173 Phil May's methods, 255 Pickwick Papers and school holiday, 232 Picture palaces versus reading, 39 Pigeons in war, amateur article on, 146, 149 Plato, why we read, 111, 112 Plausible imp, the, 257 Plots, making, 108 Plots, well-worn, 204 Poems for comparison, 76 Poems should have some definite thought, 236 Poetic idea in every poem, 237 Poetry anthologies, 75, 76 Poetry leads to good prose, 72 Poetry, reading aloud, 74 Poetry, the so-called "new," 244 Point, necessary to a story, 214 Polish, 222 Preliminary studies for perfect work, 101 Press dates are long before publication, 150 Proposals in fiction and real life, 212 Psychological bearings to be noted, 24 Publisher better judge than author, 267; not a philanthropic agent, 265 Publisher's requirements must be conformed to, 282 Publishers specialise in fixed directions, 269 "Pull together" your MS., 255 Punch and a "curtain," 233 Punch, influence of, 286 Purpose, all writing should have a, 128 Q Quiller-Couch, Sir A., 65 Quotation marks, 161 R Reader's choice, rather than yours, for the reader, 151, 152 Reading, aloud, 55, 74; helps you to judge the worth of information, 43; loss of the power of, 39; and nibbling, 40; necessary for historical stories, 41 Read only what you can read thoroughly, 40 "Realism" in fiction, 290 Reliability essential, 46 Return of MSS., 277 Reviewers, 118 Rhapsodies do not constitute poetry, 236 "Rich sonority," 54 Righteousness, authors should aim at, 293 Rives, Amélie, and local colour, 176 Rosary, The, heroine of, 210 Rossetti, Christina, 75; and Mrs. Browning, and Tennyson, 76, 77 "Rough-hewn" method, 70 Routine in editors' offices, 283 Rubáiyát, pessimistic "atmosphere" of the, 184 Rules, established, save our wasting time, 130 Ruskin's "Chapter on Chimney-Pots," 44; defects overlooked, 124; Poetry of Architecture, Queen of the Air, Preterita, 65; Sesame and Lilies, 65, 183; tangents, 137 S Schools for literature needed, 5 Scott's Lady of the Lake, 173 Secondary matter in story, 85 Seeing yourself in print should not be alone the object in writing, 148 Selection, instinct for, 139, 146 Self-expression, craving for, 9 Selling, the essential of book production, 119 Sensational, the demand for, 38 Sentences should be short, 221 Serial publication necessitates "curtains," 231 Sesame and Lilies, 183 Settle your chronological starting point, 145 Shakespeare language not necessary to amateur, 50 Shakespeare and spiritual values, 28, 29; why we read, 111, 112 Sharp, Wm., 171 Shaw, Bernard, cynical scintillations of, 165 Shelley's Cloud, 75 Short sentences an advantage, 221 Short stories need same rules as long ones, 90 Shrieking books, 38 Skimming, danger of, 36 Slang indicates ignorance, 62 Slang, monotony of, 61 Slangy style, avoid, 161 Smile, making people, 293 Snippets of reading, 37 Sonnets from the Portuguese, Mrs. Browning, 244 Sound, refined and otherwise, 69 Spectator articles for style, 55 Speeding up our sentences, 49 Spiritual values to be noted, 24 Spiritual values and Shakespeare, 28, 29 Stale material, 45 Start where you are, 224 Starting-point, chronological, to be settled, 145 Steel, Mrs. F. A., 91, 174 Stevenson, R. L., Essays, 64; Garden of Verses, 250 Story, "atmospheric" purpose of author, 89; balance of, 135; assessing values of characters, 85; climax never to be lost sight of, 89; contrasts, examples of, 87; cut out irrelevant particulars, 136; dovetailing incidents, 89; framework of, 82; get well under way early in, 134; historical reading necessary for, 41; keynote of, 79; length of, 134; the minor details, 86; the three-part basis, 132; incidents, select those that matter, 142; in form of diary, 192; in form of letters, 193; over-crowding with detail, 92; "slap dash" method of writing, 92; told in clear manner most popular, 196; written in first person, limitations of, 188; written in third person usually best, 188; secondary matter in, 85 Stories by masters, nothing merely a "fill-up," 86 Stories, short, need same rules as long ones, 90 Strauss' sound monstrosities, 68 "Strong" fiction, 287 Style, avoid indefinite, 156 Style of writing should vary, 104 Subjects must be of interest to readers, 119; not repeated by editors, 153; unable to be studied should be avoided, 19 Successful books must be well-written, 294 Swinburne and Longfellow, 76 Sympathy needed to write convincingly, 29, 30 T Tact necessary to contributors, 284 Taylor, Ann and Jane, 124 Tennyson and Christina Rossetti, 77 Tennyson's "Break, break, break," 171; "Flower in a Crannied Wall," 171 Tennyson's poems for reading aloud, 74 Thinking, formless, 171 Third-person narrative usually best, 188 Thought transference, 59 Thought, beware of labouring a, 160 Thoughts, difficulty of writing them down, 98 Three-part basis of story, 132 Timothy's Quest, 224 Topicality, keep an eye on, 150 Training for authorship imperative, 5 Training yourself, 140 Travellers, publishers', as readers, 118 Typed MSS. most likely to be read, 278 U Ugliness is not art, 291 Uncle Tom's Cabin, central idea of, 79 Unpleasant topics, 288 Unseen that counts, the, 24 Using two words where one will suffice, 50 V Valley Song, by Mabel Earle, 248 Verse, abbreviations to be avoided in, 247 Verse, amateur, 239 Verse anthologies, 75, 76 Verse-making, laws of, to be studied, 235 Verse must voice world-wide need, 243 Verse, worth reading, amateur, 239 Verse-writing a useful exercise, 234; leads to good prose, 72 Vocabulary of average person, 60 W Wax-Figure characters, 26 Wedding need not be chief aim of novel, 80 Well-worn plots, 204 When Knighthood was in Flower, "atmosphere" of, 184 Wholesome literature preferred by public, 295 Why, every, hath a wherefore, 160 Why some books survive, 28, 29 Wiggin, Kate Douglas, 224 Wilkins, Mary E., and local colour, 175, 176 Wilson, President, 171-word sentence, 221 Window in Thrums, A, 224 Wister, Owen, and local colour, 176 Woman's Magazine offered unsuitable subjects, 153 Woman's Magazine at press some weeks before publication, 150 Wooden-horse heroes, 26 Word, value of a, 66 Word-picture, fragmentary, 169 Word-picture study, 104 Word-pictures, need to select incidents for, 141 Words, greatest writers had no more than we, 251 Words, subject should regulate choice, 158 Words, use simple, 67 Words, using two when one will suffice, 50 Write as you actually speak, 48 Writing difficult to reduce to set of rules, 8 Writing is hard work, 204 Writer's influence greater than preacher's, 287 Writing a serious responsibility, 287 Writing that lasts, 25

Transcriber's Note: Obvious misprints and punctuation errors have been corrected silently.