Current Literary Topics Names in Fiction. Where do authors get their names for characters in fiction? Arthur Stringer says frankly to the editor of MacLean's Magazine that he finds he can get. his villains to perform in realistic fashion by naming them after people he does not like, especially after the literary critics who do not deal quite so kindly as they might with Mr. Stringer's stories. "There was a time," admits Mr. Stringer, "when I used to take names out of the telephone directory; but after contact with a more methodic and more successful novelist, I adopted his plan of keeping a name-book. Into this book goes every name, man's or woman's, that seems fitting for future use. "Names have a color, an aroma, and significance all their own. As I use well in excess of 200 names every year my list has to be a pretty comprehensive one; but I carry them home from all quarters, and the supply pretty well keeps even with the demand. "But we have to be careful about names. I got into all kinds of trouble this way, especially in criminal fiction, and I have received some very bitter letters from indignant citizens asking why I am using their patronymics. "When, in a series for a leading United States magazine, in a story entitled 'The Call,' I duplicated both the name and the habits of a certain living man by calling him a certain name and painting him as a hopeless drunkard, that man's brother threatened to beat me up for peddling family history. And I get many letters from actual persons asking why I have dared to use their names in fiction, and where or how I got them, and how dare I project them into public life without their permission. "To be quite frank, I sometimes find it helps a lot, in drawing a villain, to give him, even temporarily, the name of some actual individual I dislike. Right in Toronto at the present time there is a sort of a human cop perhead acting as a newspaper critic, and I know he would always help along in the creation of my most Mephistophelian subvillain by lending me his name for a week or two." The Length of Novels. Many persons undertake to write a novel without the slightest idea of the limitations of length. During the past few years I have seen novel manuscripts submitted that ran 250,000 to 300,000 words. On the other hand writers have sent in stories of from 30,000 to 60,000 words in length with the idea of publishing these as full-length novels. Now, while an occasional modern novel may exceed 100,000 words, the popular length is under 100,000, say 80,000 to 90,000 words. An examination of a number of novels of recent issues will show that they run usually from 300 to 350 pages in length. This average length is governed not only by the cost of manufacture, but by the fact that that important person known as the "average reader" does not want a novel too long. Canadian Bookman. Spoofing the Publishers. If Christopher Morley is to be believed, he copied neatly on his typewriter a dozen or so of Shakspere's sonnets and offered them to a publisher. "We explained," he says, "that these were the first of a series of 154 sonnets, and added that though many of our friends thought them good, we feared their affectionate partiality. We were submitting only a few, we said, in the hope of frank criticism from a great publishing house. If we were lucky enough to have them accepted the rest would be forthcoming; and the volume (we hoped) would be bound in red leather with wide margins and a blank page at the front for autographing. "We had to wait some time for the reply and had even begun to fear that the pub lisher had spotted our jape. But no-here is the answer that came: "We are sorry that after a careful consideration of your 'Sonnets' we cannot make a proposal for publication. We fear that we are lacking in a real enough enthusiasm to push the book as it must be pushed to bring about any success. "We regret, too, that we cannot comply with your request to criticise the work, but it is against our policy to offer criticism on material which we cannot accept for publication. We handle so many manuscripts that we could not do the work justice, and then, too, we are diffident about offering suggestions when you may find a publisher who will like your work just as it stands. In general, however, we may say that, so far as we can judge, we thought that the work was not up to standard. "Thank you for your giving us the opportunity of considering your manuscript. It is being returned to you by mail." Pen vs. Typewriter. - A German theatre manager says that contemporary German drama is suffering because the playwrights use typewriters. He demands a return to pen and ink. "Typewriters ought to be junked; stenographers fired," he says. "Dramatists, stop dictating your work. Take pen and ink and sit down alone in your studies. Then your literary genius, if you have any, will soon return and the tiresome flood of superfluous dialogue will vanish from your manuscript." The Case Method The truth of the statement that the short story is America's favorite literary fare can be confirmed by a survey of the most popular magazines. They are built around short stories. They offer novels in installments, essays, articles, biographies, editorials, humorous sketches and theater, fashion, movie and other reviews, with a flavoring of verse and humor, but their leader is the short story. This demand for short stories has raised the price, and the result is a large number of successful, aspiring, and merely hopeful story writers. Working back from the appeal of certain types of short stories, it is not hard for an analytical mind to compile a set of rules for story writing. It appears now that experts in story writing rules have gone a step further and devised a method of story review which involves taking the story apart and finding out how its author aligned it with the rules. This method, called the case system, is employed by a story expert, John Gallishaw, who writes for THE WRITER, the country's oldest magazine for professional writers. Its purpose is to lead diligent students of the art through typical problems to the basic philosophy of narration. It probably marks an advance of American story writing practice toward the establishment of a definite school, as distinctive as the French school. While technical excellence is desirable in a story, striving for it is a risky venture. The student is likely to persuade himself that formula can be substituted for creative urgency. Technical proficiency should be the servant of the writer, not his master. His striving, once he has learned the principles of his art, should be for clear, fresh interpretation. Such writers are rare, but the intensity and extent of America's interest in the short story should bring them into the field. There is a constantly decreasing probability that really talented story writers will be lost to some uncongenial occupation, and a strengthened probability that this will be known as the story writing age in American literature. (Editorial in the Indianapolis News.) Literary Articles in Periodicals A CRITICAL CREDO. Mary M. Colum. Scribner's for April. EMILY DICKINSON. Charles K. Trueblood. Dial for April. TECHNIQUE. George Saintsbury. Dial for April. TWO READINGS OF EARTH. An Appreciation of Thomas Hardy. John Livingston Lowes. Yale Review for April. THE NOVELS OF VIRGINIA WOOLF. E. M. Forster. Yale Review for April. HENRY HOLT. With frontispiece portrait. Bookman for April. RECOLLECTIONS OF STEPHEN CRANE. Mrs. Joseph Conrad. Bookman for April. How BIG IS DREISER? Charles R. Walker. Bookman for April. THE AMERICAN SHORT STORY. Frances Newman. Bookman for April. NEW LAMPS OR OLD. Clemence Dane. Bookman for April. LIFE THROUGH FICTION. III - Loyalties. Charles A. Bennett. Bookman for April. IOWA TAKES TO LITERATURE. Josephine Herbst. American Mercury for April. LITERARY LADIES OF THE SOUTH. Isaac Goldberg. American Mercury for April. JOURNALISM IN TEXAS. Chester T. Crowell. American Mercury for April. TWO UNUSUAL LITERARY VIGNETTES MARION HARLAND AND HENRY CUYLER BUNNER. With portraits. Max J. Herzberg. Charm for April. PEDANTIC STUDY OF TWO CRITICS (JAMES BRANCH CABELL AND H. L. MENCKEN). Joseph Warren Beach. American Speech for March. SPOOK ENGLISH. Lowry Charles Wimberly. American Speech for March. THE 1870's IN AMERICAN LITERATURE. Marion Reid Murray. American Speech for March. THE STORY OF POE'S "BELLS." Hervey Allen. Measure for March. UNIFORMS FOR THOUGHTS. Margaret Lynn. Atlantic for March. SEX, ART, TRUTH, AND MAGAZINES. OSwald Garrison Villard. Atlantic for March. THE POSITION OF SHAKSPERE. A. B. Walkley. Vanity Fair for March. MY UNCLE, STEPHEN CRANE, AS I KNEW HIM. Edna Crane Sidbury. International Book Review for March. IN THE WORKSHOP OF AN AMERICAN REALIST (THEODORE DREISER). Jean West Maury. International Book Review for March. AMERICAN LEADERSHIP IN THE ENGLISH IDIOM. Brander Matthews. International Book Review for March. LAFCADIO HEARN'S LOVE FOR THE HORRIBLE. Richard Le Gallienne. International Book Review for March. THE NINE THOUSAND BOOKS OF 1925. Fred E. Woodward. International Book Review for March. SEEING IS BELIEVING IN NEWS-PICTURES. Thurlow Weed Barnes. Photo-Era for March. WHY I WRITE MUSIC. Norman Leigh (Arthur Cleveland Morse). With portrait. Melody for March. IBSEN'S "LIFE-FORMS." R. Petsch. Open Court for February. E. PAULINE JOHNSON. M. O. Hammond. Canadian Bookman for February. THE WRITER'S DIRECTORY OF PERIODICALS (Continued) trials bravely, etc. Sets length limits at from 1,500 to 2,000 words for stories, and about 1,500 words to a chapter for serials. Does not buy photographs, likes "special-day" stories, and pays on acceptance, at the rate of five dollars a thousand words. OPEN ROAD FOR BOYS (M), 248 Boylston st., Boston. $1.50; 15c. Clayton H. Ernst, editor. Uses stories and articles on any subject of interest to boys, especially all kinds of sports. Sets length limit for stories at from 2,500 to 8,000 words; for articles, at from 500 to 600 words. Pays on acceptance. OPPORTUNITY (M), 75 North Michigan ave., Chicago, Ill. $1.00; 25c. James R. Quirk, editor; William T. Walsh, managing editor. Devoted to direct selling. Uses short stories, serials, and general articles, but no poetry, jokes, plays, novelettes, or juvenile matter. Sets length limit for fiction at 7,000 words; for articles at 3,000 words. Buys photographs suited to the field of the magazine, prefers fiction that deals with direct selling, and pays on acceptance. OPPORTUNITY (M), 127 East 23d st., New York. $1.50; 15c. Charles S. Johnson, editor. A negro publication, printing short stories, poetry and general articles. Does not pay for manuscripts. OUR DUMB ANIMALS (M), 180 Longwood avenue, Uses manuscripts relating to animals, birds, peace, or the broader aspects of humanitarian work-fact, fiction, incident, etc., unpublished anecdotes of well-known people, living or dead, who were specially attached to animals, short stories, jokes, and juvenile matter. Might use a very short play. Sets length limit at 800 words, is eager to buy photographs, and pays on acceptance, although some matter is gratuitous. OUR FOURFOOTED FRIENDS (M), 51 Carver st., Boston. 75c; 6c. Mrs. Huntington Smith, editor. Devoted to humane educational work in connection with the Boston Animal Rescue League. Uses short stories, general articles, and poetry, but no serials or novelettes, and no humorous verse. Fiction should deal with animal work. Buys no photographs. OUR LITTLE ONES (W), American Baptist Publication Society, 1701 Chestnut st., Philadelphia, Penn. 25c. W. Edward Raffety, editor. Uses stories that are good, bright, and natural; moral, religious, or informing. Wants neither dialect nor slang. Prints no poems. Sets length limit at 1,000 words, buys photographs, and pays on the fifteenth of each month. OUTDOOR LIFE (M), 1824 Curtis st., Denver, Colorado. $2.00; 20c. J. A. McGuire, editor. Uses manuscripts relating to hunting big game and articles on ballistics by recognized experts. Sets length limit at about 5,000 words, occasionally buys photographs, uses no fiction, and pays on acceptance. OUTDOOR RECREATION (M), Mount Morris, Illinois. $2.50; 25c. Dan B. Starkey, editor. A specialized publication, printing short stories, general articles, and poetry, and buying departmental matter on angling, auto camping, and guns and ammunition. Sets length limit at from 2,500 to 3,000 words, buys photographs, and pays usually upon publication. Fiction should treat of the outdoors and be related to hunting and fishing. Offers a limited market, as it is usually overstocked with material. OUR MISSIONS (M), Techny, Ill. $1.00; 10c. Rev. Bruno Hagspiel, S. V. D., editor. Devoted to Roman Catholic missions. Uses short stories, novelettes, serials, general articles, poetry, humorous verse, jokes, plays, and juvenile matter, all of a missionary (home and foreign) nature. Sets length limit at from 500 to 1,200 words. Buys photographs referring to China, New Guinea, the Philippines, Japan, the Dutch East Indies, and the negroes of the United States. Fiction should be missionary in tone, to further vocations to the missionary priesthood, brotherhood, or sisterhood, all, of course, Roman Catholic. Payment is made according to the quality of the manuscript. OUR NAVY (S-M), 618 Bond Building, Washington, OUR YOUNG PEOPLE (W), 810 Broadway, Nashville, Uses short stories, serials, general articles, and poetry, setting length limit at from 2,000 to 3,000 words, buys photographs, and pays on acceptance. The third printing of this Directory was begun in THE WRITER for March, 1917. Back numbers can be supplied. A set of the numbers from January, 1920, to April, 1926, giving the Directory complete, with additions and changes bringing everything up to date, and much other valuable matter, will be sent for five dollars; with a year's subscription added for eight dollars. |