John ShaqiResearch Library

Opening the text

The Fiction Factory: Being the experience of a writer who, for twenty-two years, has kept a story-mill grinding successfullyCook, William Wallace

Philosophy

The Fiction Factory: Being the experience of a writer who, for twenty-two years, has kept a story-mill grinding successfully

Name: The Fiction Factory: Being the experience of a writer who, for twenty-two years, has kept a story-mill grinding successfully
Author: Cook, William Wallace

Cook, William Wallace

Authorship; Fiction

Edwards has always prided himself on keeping true to the actual
conditions of the country which forms the screen against which his plot
and characters are thrown. This is a gratifying tribute, therefore,
from one who knows.

A letter which rather startled Edwards, suggesting as it did the
Maricopa Indian incident which trailed upon the heels of "A Study in
Red," is this:

                               "Colorado Springs, Colo., 2-25-'09.

  Mr. John Milton Edwards,

  Dear Sir: Through the kindness of the editor of the _Blue Book_
  I received your address. I am very much interested in your story
  entitled, 'Country Rock at Kish-Kish,' and know the greater part of
  it to be true to life, but would like to know if it is ALL true. Did
  Sager have a daughter? And where did Sager go when he left Arizona?
  Or is that just a part of the story? I am very much interested in
  that character, Sager. Can you tell me if he is still living, and
  where? Any information that you may be able to give me will be more
  than appreciated.

  Thanking you in advance for the favor, I am,

                                        Yours respectfully,
                                             Mrs. James R. S----."

Edwards answered this letter--he answers promptly all such letters
that come to him and esteems it a privilege--and received a reply. It
appeared that Mrs. S-- was the grand-daughter of a man whom "Sager"
had robbed of a large amount of money. "Country Rock at Kish-Kish" was
built on a newspaper clipping twenty years old. This clipping Edwards
forwarded to Mrs. S-- in the hope that it might help her in her quest
for "Sager." The letter was returned as uncalled for. Should this ever
fall under the eye of Mrs. S-- she will understand that Edwards did
everything in his power to be of assistance to her.

Now and again a letter, which compliments an author indirectly, will
chasten his mounting spirit with the reminder of a "slip:"

                                 "Rochester, N. Y., Nov. 17, 1905.

  Mr. John Milton Edwards:

  Dear Sir:--Will you please tell me where I can get more of your
  stories than in the _Argosy_; and also, in reference to your story
  which concludes in December _Argosy_, how many large autos were in
  use in New York in 1892?

                                               Yours respectfully,
                                                    Howard Z----."

Carelessness in a writer is inexcusable. It is the one thing which a
reader will not forgive, for it is very apt to spoil his pleasure in
what would otherwise have been a good story. This is a sublimated form
of the "gold-brick game," inasmuch as the reader pays his money for
a magazine only to find that he has been "buncoed" by the table of
contents. If there is a flaw in the factory's product, rest assured
that it will be discovered and react to the disadvantage of everything
else that comes from the same mill.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

The Fiction Factory: Being the experience of a writer who, for twenty-two years, has kept a story-mill grinding successfullyCook, William Wallace

Philosophy

The Fiction Factory: Being the experience of a writer who, for twenty-two years, has kept a story-mill grinding successfully

Cook, William Wallace

Authorship; Fiction

Edwards has always prided himself on keeping true to the actual
conditions of the country which forms the screen against which his plot
and characters are thrown. This is a gratifying tribute, therefore,
from one who knows.

A letter which rather startled Edwards, suggesting as it did the
Maricopa Indian incident which trailed upon the heels of "A Study in
Red," is this:

                               "Colorado Springs, Colo., 2-25-'09.

  Mr. John Milton Edwards,

  Dear Sir: Through the kindness of the editor of the _Blue Book_
  I received your address. I am very much interested in your story
  entitled, 'Country Rock at Kish-Kish,' and know the greater part of
  it to be true to life, but would like to know if it is ALL true. Did
  Sager have a daughter? And where did Sager go when he left Arizona?
  Or is that just a part of the story? I am very much interested in
  that character, Sager. Can you tell me if he is still living, and
  where? Any information that you may be able to give me will be more
  than appreciated.

  Thanking you in advance for the favor, I am,

                                        Yours respectfully,
                                             Mrs. James R. S----."

Edwards answered this letter--he answers promptly all such letters
that come to him and esteems it a privilege--and received a reply. It
appeared that Mrs. S-- was the grand-daughter of a man whom "Sager"
had robbed of a large amount of money. "Country Rock at Kish-Kish" was
built on a newspaper clipping twenty years old. This clipping Edwards
forwarded to Mrs. S-- in the hope that it might help her in her quest
for "Sager." The letter was returned as uncalled for. Should this ever
fall under the eye of Mrs. S-- she will understand that Edwards did
everything in his power to be of assistance to her.

Now and again a letter, which compliments an author indirectly, will
chasten his mounting spirit with the reminder of a "slip:"

                                 "Rochester, N. Y., Nov. 17, 1905.

  Mr. John Milton Edwards:

  Dear Sir:--Will you please tell me where I can get more of your
  stories than in the _Argosy_; and also, in reference to your story
  which concludes in December _Argosy_, how many large autos were in
  use in New York in 1892?

                                               Yours respectfully,
                                                    Howard Z----."

Carelessness in a writer is inexcusable. It is the one thing which a
reader will not forgive, for it is very apt to spoil his pleasure in
what would otherwise have been a good story. This is a sublimated form
of the "gold-brick game," inasmuch as the reader pays his money for
a magazine only to find that he has been "buncoed" by the table of
contents. If there is a flaw in the factory's product, rest assured
that it will be discovered and react to the disadvantage of everything
else that comes from the same mill.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

The Fiction Factory: Being the experience of a writer who, for twenty-two years, has kept a story-mill grinding successfully

The Fiction Factory: Being the experience of a writer who, for twenty-two years, has kept a story-mill grinding successfully

No reviews yet