Short-Stories

After the idea that the class wishes to develop has been definitely determined and the material for this development has been gathered and grouped about the idea, the class should select a viewpoint and proceed to write. Sometimes the author should tell the story, sometimes a third person who may be of secondary importance in the story should be given the rôle of the story-teller, sometimes the whole may be in dialogue. The class should choose a fitting method.

Young writers should be very careful about the beginning of a story. An action story should start with a striking incident that catches the reader's attention at once and forecasts subsequent happenings. In every case this first incident must have in it the essence of the end of the story and should be perfectly logical to the reader after he has finished the reading. A story in which the setting is emphasized can well begin, with a description and contain a number of descriptions and expositions, distributed with a sense of propriety throughout the theme. A good method to use in the opening of a character story is that of conversation. An excellent example of a sharp use of this device is Mrs. Freeman's Revolt of Mother, where the first paragraph is a single spoken word.

Every incident included in the story should be tested for its value in the development of the theme. An incident that does not amplify certain phases of the story has no right to be included, and great care should be used in an effort to incorporate just the material necessary for the proper evolution of the thought. The problem is not so much what can be secured to be included in the story, but rather, after making a thorough collection of the material, what of all these points should be cast out.

The ending must be a natural outgrowth of the development found in the body of the composition. Even in a story with a surprise ending, of which we are tempted to say that we have had no preparation for such a turn in the story, there must be hints – the subtler the better – that point unerringly and always toward the end. The end is presupposed in the beginning and the changing of one means the altering of the other.

Young writers have trouble in stopping at the right place. They should learn, as soon as possible, that to drag on after the logical ending has been reached spoils the best of stories. It is just as bad to stop before arriving at the true end. In other words there is only one place for the ending of a story, and in no case can it be shifted without ruining the idea that has obtained throughout the theme.

There are certain steps in the development of story-writing that should be followed if the best results are to be obtained. The first assignment should require only the writing of straight narrative. The Arabian Nights Tales and children's stories represent this type of writing and will give the teacher valuable aid in the presentation of this work. After the students have produced simple stories resembling the Sinbad Voyages, they should next add descriptions of persons and places and explanations of situations to develop clearness and interest in their original productions. Taking these themes in turn students should be required to introduce plot incidents that complicate the simple happenings and divert the straightforward trend of the narrative. Now that the stories are well developed in their descriptions, expositions, and plot interests they should be tested for their emotional effects. Students should go through their themes, and by making the proper changes give in some cases a humorous and in others a pathetic or tragic effect. These few suggestions are given to emphasize the facts that no one conceives a story in all its details in a moment of inspiration, and that there is a way of proceeding that passes in logical gradations from the simplest to the most complex phases of story writing.

Franklin and Stevenson knew no rules for writing other than to practice incessantly on some form they wished to imitate. Hard work is the first lesson that boys and girls must learn in the art of writing, and a systematic gradation of assignments is what the teacher must provide for his students. Walter Besant gave the following rules for novel writers. Some of them may be suggestive to writers of the high school age, so the list is given in its complete form. "(1) Practice writing something original every day. (2) Cultivate the habit of observation. (3) Work regularly at certain hours. (4) Read no rubbish. (5) Aim at the formation of style. (6) Endeavor to be dramatic. (7) A great element of dramatic skill is selection. (8) Avoid the sin of writing about a character. (9) Never attempt to describe any kind of life except that with which you are familiar. (10) Learn as much as you can about men and women. (11) For the sake of forming a good natural style, and acquiring command of language, write poetry."

SHORT-STORY LIBRARY

BOOKS FOR REFERENCE:

American Short-Stories, Charles Baldwin, Longmans, Green, & Co.

A Study of Prose Fiction, Chapter XII, Bliss Perry, Houghton, Mifflin Co.

Composition Rhetoric, T.C. Blaisdell, American Book Co.

Forms of Prose Literature, J.H. Gardiner, Charles Scribner's Sons.

Materials and Methods of Fiction, Clayton Hamilton, The Baker and Taylor Co.

Principles of Literary Criticism, C.T. Winchester, The Macmillan Co.

Short-Story Writing, C.R. Barrett. The Baker and Taylor Co.

Specimens of the Short-Story, G.H. Nettleton, H. Holt & Co.

Story-Writing and Journalism, Sherwin Cody, Funk & Wagnalls Co.

Talks on Writing English, Arlo Bates, Houghton Mifflin Co.

The Writing of the Short-Story, L.W. Smith, D.C. Heath & Co.

The Philosophy of the Short-Story, Brander Matthews, Longmans, Green, & Co.

The World's Greatest Short-Stories, Sherwin Cody, A.C. McClurg & Co.

The Short-Story, Henry Canby, Henry Holt & Co.

The Short-Story, Evelyn May Albright, The Macmillan Co.

The Book of the Short-Story, Jessup and Canby, D. Appleton & Co.

Modern Masterpieces of Short Prose Fiction, Waite and Taylor, D. Appleton & Co.

The Short-Story, Brander Matthews, American Book Co.

Writing the Short-Story, Esenwein, Hinds, Noble & Eldredge.

A Study of the Short-Story in English, Henry Seidel Canby, Henry Holt & Co.

COLLECTIONS OF SHORT-STORIES:_

American Short-Stories, Charles S. Baldwin, Longmans, Green, & Co.

Great Short-Stories, 3 vols., William Patten, P.F. Collier & Son.

Little French Masterpieces, 6 vols. Alexander Jessup, G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Short-Story Classics (American), 5 vols., William Patten, P.F. Collier & Son.

Short-Story Classics (Foreign), 5 vols., William Patten, P.F. Collier & Son.

Stories by American Authors, 10 vols., Charles Scribner's Sons.

Stories by English Authors, 10 vols., Charles Scribner's Sons.

Stories by Foreign Authors, 10 vols., Charles Scribner's Sons.

Stories New and Old (American and English), Hamilton W. Mabie, The Macmillan Co.

World's Greatest Short-Stories, Sherwin Cody, A.C. McClurg & Co.

The American Short-Story, Elias Lieberman.

THE FATHER[2 - This story was written in 1860. Translated from the Norwegian by Professor Rasmus B. Anderson. It is printed by permission of and special arrangement with Houghton Mifflin Co., publishers.]

By Björnstjerne Björnson (1838-1910)

The man whose story is here to be told was the wealthiest and most influential person in his parish; his name was Thord Överaas. He appeared in the priest's study one day, tall and earnest.

"I have gotten a son," said he, "and I wish to present him for baptism."

"What shall his name be?"

"Finn, – after my father."

"And the sponsors?"

They were mentioned, and proved to be the best men and women of

Thord's relations in the parish.