Maidens of the Sea
Far out in the ocean, deep and blue,
Where the winds dance wild and free,
In coral caves, dwells a beautiful band—
The maidens of the sea.
There are stories old, of the mystic tide,
And legends strange, of the deep,
How the witching sound of the siren’s song
Can lull the tempest to sleep.
When moonlight falls on a crystal sea,
When the clouds have backward rolled,
The mermaids sing their low sweet songs,
And their harp strings are of gold.
The billows come from the vast unknown—
From their far-away unseen home;
The waves bring shells to the sandy bar,
And the fairies dance on the foam.
The Technique of the Short Story
An old rule for those who would be well-dressed says: “When you have finished, go to the mirror and see what you can take off.” The same rule applies with equal force to the short story: “When you have written it out, go over it carefully, and see what you can take out.”
Besides being the best preparation for the writing of novels, short-story writing is undoubtedly, at the present time, the best paying and most satisfactory form of any ephemeral literary work. The qualities which make it successful are to be attained only by constant and patient practice. The real work of writing a story may be brief, but years of preparation must be worked through before a manuscript, which may be written in an hour or so, can present an artistic result.
The first and most important thing to consider is the central idea. There are only a few ideas in the world, but their ramifications are countless, and one need never despair of a theme. Your story may be one of either failure or success, but it must have the true ring. Given the man and the circumstances, we should know his action.