Choice of Details.—In writing an account of a simple incident it is possible to tell every detail of what happened. But evidently no such thing is practicable in narrating the events of a day, a week, a lifetime. What to omit will depend much upon the length of the composition. A clear-headed writer will not put pen to paper before he has decided just what points he is going to bring out.
Written Exercise.—(1) Jot down on paper memoranda of the important things, the turning events, in your own past life. (2) Make memoranda to show what events ought to stand out most distinctly in a history of the United States.
Plot.—Read the following:—
Ichabod Crane was ridiculously frightened one dark night by a boy who played ghost. The lad took the part of a traditional spectre that rode a black horse. The joker had a cloak over his head, and before him on the saddle a pumpkin, to represent the head which the headless horseman was fabled to carry.
Read now the following:—
One dark night Ichabod Crane started homeward on horseback. He approached the oak on which André, the spy, was hanged. Ichabod’s heart quaked. He passed the haunted tree in safety, but his heart almost stood still when, a little farther on, he saw a strange rider on a gigantic horse. Horse and rider kept pace with him. Ichabod however saw that the latter was headless, nay, carried his head before him on the saddle. The figure raised itself and hurled its head at Ichabod. When the schoolmaster found himself on the ground, did he realize that the grewsome missile was only a pumpkin?
Which of these accounts begets suspense as to the outcome? In other words, in which is there plot? Recall some novel you have read, and explain how the reader’s interest is held through to the end.
Oral Exercise.—Recall some anecdote, and present it orally with plot interest.
Theme.—Write a simple historical narrative of about two hundred words, giving without plot all the details of some brief incident in your own experience. The following may suggest a topic: 1. My first day at the lathe. 2. Examination memories. 3. How I earned some money and how I spent it. 4. Spearing fish by night. 5. A personal adventure with a window. 6. How I spent this morning.