"HOW I WROTE MY FIRST NOVEL."

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1978, 7 February 1914, Page 10

"HOW I WROTE MY FIRST NOVEL."

WOMEN .WRITERS M 'THEIR FIRST ATTEMPTS. ■" To the budding young novelist and to countless readers of fiction liotliiivg Is Wqro interesting to bear thou tho in--enfant that led, to tlio •wiri.tiiig of the first novel by gojrso Wcllrknowiv writer,. i anil tbo account of tire difßcnltiCß or «aso of its acdeptahfiOD'y jt pii.ij'li.i3h.e'r> 'Iho plot of my first story',''' says ■ Mrs. Bollqc Lqyy.ndos,. "eil.titiqd 'The iicart of Penelope,' was first suggested i to inei by hearing in casual conversatibii. at a happening m roa l J;.f oi Tf,,' s wSs • the incident, of tho murder of a Ertnc'b ■lady qy .h.er daughter's lover- -.Tbo i stery, of course, gerjmuafced in my s ihmd long before I wrote* it, and the , writing .of tlio book took mo fully two >. J'°?!?»\ lf n:ot ftorti as my invariabk I habit tsto rewrite my work in Bcctio.nß many times. A Moslem Tald. i " 'The Heart of Pcftclopb' was a ■ : modern story; winch opened in Loivdbiii ■ ift St. Platte, in a- house that ' oncb belonged to the ftoious Vibtdriah l poeMiankbr, Samuel libbers. When ) lint half; Completed I. off iicA It to & 'firm ■. of publishers who refused \% Baying ■ that they did not carb to see tho cont el'irsioiu _ .< ' ' , ', i. . "I finished, tbo .book,' .and thon sent . ■; it to Mr, fieihcriianri. It iVa's aceepti cd at onco. e and I had the .pleasure of ) 'hearing' fronv liim that liis reader's tei port had been .a very favourable-.bno. ■ ' "As a matter of fac'tj. tho results in . i ono way seemed jiot to ■j.ustify ilici t:d.- .. port. Put, on th<S.'btno,r hand, tho subscription for iny host novel, published a year later, was oyer twenty ) • times wlißJt tho subscription to tho .'first '.had been, and my. sec.biiid hook, 'Bar- ': bara' Revell,'. did fiyo times as well as '. I'hoHcart;qf Pchciqjio.'" Giving a Story a Bcsf. [. _ A. line from .'■'jlio'/Merchant -of Ven- , ieo, u ''The'twentieth., part of oiio', j)6.0.r s . .s'eru.ple,"..suggested 'tbo ii.tlq of Mrs. . Wilfrid Ward's'first ppybl, . ''.Olio Poor . f Scruple/' This 'writer,,so well known . for hor : fn?tid'ipusiies.s of .stylo, waa i occupied for seven years at intervals ' over tfiff hook. lii hoi; bwji words, Mrs. Ward says: (.-: "I. havo' never knowft interruption or ~ delay to injure a book. Many novelists find it necessary to .go straight on with* [, out any long iiitbrvals in their work, But I.have always ospericneed tho vnluo. of tlio .advico of ~,niy .old friend i Mi'. Hamilton. Aide; 'Wiion yon havo sot your story fairly on its way, put it ■iii ii drawer and,give it -ft. ■rest'.' 1 . 1 '• must stand, w.eil tuvay from tho. base! • before .I can judge of the effect of tho 1 pictiira. ■ "I sent 'One Pobf $!Grup.l6 , to Messrs. Longmans, and I shall never forgot the' . di'sappoiii'trrien : .t of having it seiit hack ■ ' to mo. .Howoytir, the nost post brbaghi .cciiisbl'a'tion.'' T recoivtd a iiote v i tin ask mo to jot therjii havo 'tlio. Msß'. 'of • rfty noyol rotiirhed at oneoj'i't had beeft ,; sent back to nio bj? mistako.. ■ . ''After that I Tccejvid fjxoelletit. terms for a first venture. Wiioiv printed it ' ■ \vivs ..longer than. I expeetedj and T.etfenetl • to pS'ges.._ it .concluded tvitli a. s postscript jv.h'ieii'lhayeiie'y.erlilike.di but .. •' wliteh added, in deference bp advice:. ', Tho ,;po's:ts.cript'.-. : fiiiishes: fiil^tho./.chaf.nci-r,,.,.. .Hq^iV tioii'bf tbo,'rost'of. tlioir l.iv<is, Jeariiig-' ' n.Qtliihg whatever,.to tho imagiuatioa'.of ■:•' • tlip readers. ' First BqqK Aoocjifcd, "The !, scrupk' in thq novel iya.s a Ca.tholic'a objection, to .rnarrying. si I idivorceo. X believ& that tho continued. sa.lo of tlm iio'ybl i? piyiiig Ereatl'y ip. tho ' fact that it is ii pictiiro q.f the lifo of a : sqmo old families; from witEin. Fb'i' a' truthful study of &■ group of humaft ■-; beings w'hbso lives -are' ciqsely. linked 0 with an historio past .finds readers today;''' •'.'■■,.'..'. •.'■• Miss Netta Syrott .'is ono of tho forf. tun.ate iVomeii writers who foiind n.q ■ difficulty in 'gotting hoic; 'first ■ novel, 0 "Nobody's .'lfymft/'. pubii'she.i. ~ "I wrb'to it iii Londqn,'', says Mis 3 Syiott, "and it was. ap'p'e'pto'd at o'licft by 1 Mn John, ijanqi" On tho dsy of puiblieatioil she \vas amaisfed. td fiud a full . isolumn in ft. inorniiig paper dovoted to; thp jipiv 'book, " ; ''Except ior ■B.qmo.'ishorfc s.tor.ica in 'The Mloiv ilopk' X was : utikhOwn. iii tho .liter'ary" and te.ry. ighpriint .-' o'f its \i'B.y. J?e.arly every rpviewor whs very kind -to' 'NqUody's Vauft,'' . Ovca: . w'hiß'h I. had woflieql s'ovc.n •,or' l "o'ight j mqriths.'*, . J' The .fir-it .novel written, by .Miss .Gbri trudb Pago was noVbr published in. book . forrn.r bui-.appeared As- .a long serial stbry in "Tlio. Girl's .Own .iPapciV' It • ■ was writtcii wheji Miss. Pago w'riß' only !* at rt period of hot indigiintibn against nliifcli t.hSt tho young'iiqvcl- , ist saiy and .heard .around .hor. .. s . "I first .sent it to M'r, .'Blackwood/' sivys Miss Pago, "bnt. I .received' '.n- .. tqr from tlio .firm inforrhing me .that, ' o though Mr. Blackwood, could-..noti boo If. 'his. way to publish, tlio b.qbk, inmi.ijcl.fi, , d lib had roaij tlio s'tqrj'_ with intbrest, / s' and advised 'nib to£(Di<l..i't to. ; thb editor n of "fte Girl's Own Paper.." I took ' fc-- jii's advico, and tbo story was prb'niptly 6 acsep'tcdj' and aftbriy'ard.s beeamb. the y- shbicct of Sbrab •' iiitcfesfihg cp,rr> i spondeiice, ■ . a "The Riwater part of tlib story s ■ written in secret, often iii the- iuglit .. Jibiirs, arid I told no ono of my, labours . s tuitiJ tho letter of accoptancb was iii J uiy hand. , Her Real Start, "After that 1 mot with. :a. I'Ong. peiiq.d of struggle and disappointment, I ii'roto at least sis novels, a'iid c.oul.S : npt ■get ar(y bf 'thcni' accepted anyiyhero; ~' " I. Went to Rhodesia, .As spbii .: as I .bad'.grits.ped ivljat I cqnsidored a i true .conception of life in Rhodesia I ; sec to wofk on. my first. JRhcKlcsia'n f novel. This was refused by'. fiyo pu'b- '. lisliers, but vv'as at last a.c.c.eiitod % [ Messrs. JiiiMt and _ Bkckett, an.d' n'p- ; poared uiidoi' tho title 'IjOVb in., the Wiidoniess,' It is still spiling we'll/' As ftn ouccmtagehient to tho lioye.iis.t whoso work's ..may iibt .yet -havo found , aceeptv-incey 'Miss. 'Ge'rt!tru..d:o Pago ; also " states that 'throb out'of tho six. ;fe- • looted novels, we're ul.tima'ttly .pii.blislipcl ' with-such sueebgs that thby ayferagbd : twelve editions. ... An cxehango states that word has heen received in Auckland from England that Miss Ina B'osworth, tho young violinist, who left in company with hor mother sovoral mouths ago for tho purpose of continuing her studies, is makmp good progress. Wilhelmi, the great violinist, has ghen it as his opinion Hint Miss Ina Bpsvvorth is exceptionally gifted and ihat sho nill come to tbo front. Tho 6oalp was Rivon yen to grow hair, nrnko it do its vork. MISS MILSOM, Hair Physician, will diagnose your caoo (free of charge), and nrcscrib-j tho ncces. rarv proparalions, and teach you how to uso* them ? wh»tbor your hnir be too drv too greasy, jrrcy, thin, dandruff, tion, etc. There i* not a preparation existent in itself that will make hair grow but long exporienoe, study in soicne* 0 £ hnir, and successful treatmcat, with tho combination of proper preparations, has ' solved tho secret. AH treatments, sha'mpooinp, face nuissnge,, clipp,inif, maniouring, lmirdrcssins taught. Hairrwork of everv description. Natural Hair, Parisian Rinfjs (used instoad of hot pads.) Advies gratis by mail. Miss Jlilsom, Kino J » (Cluunbore, WiUia Stroct, WoUitirton. \