Unity of Time.— Ordinarily, the plot of a short story is based on a sequence of events culminating in a simple crisis in the life of one person. A novel might deal with several such crises in the life of one individual, for very few persons pass through only one; or the novel may be […]

The Distinctiveness of Your Story.— Unity of impression presupposes unity of conception, deep sympathy with the story and its characters, and the maintenance of a general tone throughout. A story may progress logically, swiftly, and clearly from the preliminary situation right through to the conclusion, without halt or hesitation; it may be a model of […]

When to Choose the Title.—With regard to whether the title should be chosen before or after the story has been written, no absolute rule can be fixed. Some writers find they can decide with greater facility upon the best title for a script after all the constituents of the plot have been grounded firmly in […]

The Detective Story.-Many of my readers will be especially fitted to write detective stories, stories involving the untying of a knot that seemingly has worked itself into a dizzy jumble of strands leading nowhere and incapable of any sensible solution. For their benefit I am appending an analysis of the detective story. Working from Puzzle […]

Sequence.— Before dealing with the revision of the story, I will take up first its actual writing. First of all, the efficient and systematic, the sure and careful, author will make out an outline of his plot. All important events, even of minor value, will be included in their natural order. In pursuance of this […]

What Good Dialogue Must Do.– Good dialogue must be convincing in quality, must portray exactly and suggestively the character from whom the speech comes. The reader will be as quick to observe falsity of speech as he is in natural life when a person with little or no education attempts to use words of whose […]

Elements of Setting.— Setting in a story is the time, place, and conditions under which the action of the story occurs. Setting bears the same relation to the story that the sound drum bears to the Phonograph. In both cases, the lack of the developing feature of setting and sound drum will detract greatly from […]

Style a Reflection of Self. — As the French academician observed, “Style is the Man.” Style in writing is just as true a portrayal of what a man is—how his texture of thought is woven together—as are the actions of his life. Style is a particular method of writing and no two men are gifted […]

Why Stories Are Judged by Their Beginning.— Many are the stories upon whose merit a searching ray of illumination can be thrown by the manner in which they are begun, just as we may judge people by the way in which they respond to an introduction. If a woman, when a man is presented to […]

A Simple Definition of the Photoplay.—Numerous attempts have been made to define the photoplay. Most of the definitions have been unsatisfactory, however, because ambiguous. The simplest definition possible is: a story told in picture action instead of words. That is, a photoplay is a story told almost entirely in pantomine by actors, whose thoughts and […]