(4) Apportion the length of the story among its several happenings, those main events which give physical presentment to the plot and so incidentally develop or exhibit character, and those minor events which only develop character or merely aid the physical progress of the story.
EXECUTIVE TECHNIQUE
(1) Determine the style or manner of writing for which the story calls, and maintain it when once pitched upon.
(2) Write vividly only where emphasis is called for by the event; do not be afraid to narrate in general terms where the story does not call for detail; and think less of the word than of the thing you visualize. Let the story flow before your eye and sound in your ear as to an actual observer or listener; transcribe only what he would see, hear, smell or think under the influence of the particular circumstances.
(3) Avoid all artificialities, in description, in the speech of characters, even in their names and in the undue repetition of verbs of utterance—"he said," "she said."
(4) Re-write, or touch up in manuscript.
(5) After a week or more, when other matters have shaken the mind from the ruts it has worn for itself in planning and writing the story, re-read it critically to discover whether it is worth-while and whether it cannot be improved.
INDEX
Action, [105], [139], [146], [148].
Action, in novel and short story, [190].
Adventure, [32].
Alice in Wonderland, [203].
Almayer's Folly, [161], [163].
Anna Karenina, [192], [195].
Artificiality, [85].
Artistry, [99], [187], [188], [206].
Atmosphere
Definition, [152].
Atmospheric value, [154].
Tone of story, [156].
Preparation for climax, [156].
Examples, [158], [159].
Story of atmosphere, [160].
Short story, [161].
Setting, [161].
Dramatic value, [164].
Atmosphere, short story of, [166], [168].
Atmosphere, story of, [45].
Atmosphere, style of story of, [93].
Anglo-Saxon, [130].
Austen, Jane, [94], [182], [189].
Balzac, Honore de, [54], [88], [98], [114].
Best Short Stories of 1915, The, [76].
Brevity, of short story, [178], [179].
Bronte, Emily, [94].
Brown, Alice, [154].
Burnett, Frances H., [152].
Call of the Wild, The, [198].
Carroll, Lewis, [203].
Cask of Amontillado, The, [168].
Cervantes, [208].
Character, [35], [36].
Characterization, [74], [128].
Three modes, [136].
Dialogue, [136].
Action, [136].
Description or direct statement, [136].
Aims of characterization, [138].
To show nature of person, [138].
To show appearance, [138].
Character and plot, [139].
Characterization by speech, [140].
Characterization by statement, [144].
Characterization by action, [147].
Characterization in novel, [190].
Characterization in short story, [172], [173].
Character sketch, [39].
Character story, [40].
Character, style of story of, [93].
Classes, speech of, [143].
Clearness, in description, [119].
Climax, [50], [57], [157].
Cloister and the Hearth, The, [191].
Coherence, of novel, [190].
Coherence, of short story, [179].
Color, [119].
Commonplace, story of, [97].
Complication, as element of plot, [51].
Complication, story of, [42].
Compression, [44], [169], [181].
Condescension, [30].
Conrad, Joseph, [161], [162].
Conservatism, portrayal of, [26].
Construction, [16], [64].
Conte, [43].
Contrast, [123], [157].
Copperfield, David, [117], [191], [192].
Cousin Pons, [54], [55].
Creative process, order, [37].
Crime and Punishment, [32].
Critical faculty, [23].
Criticism, [34].
Culture, [35].
Current Questions, [25].
Dawn of a Tomorrow, The, [152].
Defoe, Daniel, [98], [208].
Descent into the Maelstrom, A, [84].
Description, [105].
Interest, [107].
Secondary function, [108].
Distribution, [108].
Story of atmosphere, [109].
Effectiveness, [109].
Description of persons, [110].
Example, [111].
Analysis, [112].
Accuracy, [114].
Mechanical limitations, [116].
Use of all senses, [117].
Description of setting, [118].
Two objects, [119].
Use of all senses, [120].
Order of details, [122].
Contrast, [123].
Design, importance of, [13].
Dialect, [127], [128].
Dialogue (see [Speech]), [105], [136].
Dialogue, in relation to characterization, [140].
Dickens, Charles, [28], [92], [117], [141], [142], [191], [192], [193].
Diction, [102], [130], [131].
Don Quixote, [208].
Dostoievsky, Fyodor, [32], [203], [208].
Douglas, George, [58], [94].
Doyle, Sir A. Conan, [83], [204].
Drama, conventions of, [170].
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, [56], [182], [200].
Dumas, Alexandre, [31], [92].
Dunn, Finley Peter (Mr. Dooley), [134].
Ebb-Tide, The, [82], [89], [91], [145], [149], [188], [191], [192].
Elements, blending of, [105], [106].
Eliot, George, [31], [88].
Emotion, [25].
Emphasis, [39], [40], [77], [101], [110].
End of story, [72].
Events, order of, [65].
Events, secondary, [103].
Exposition, [85].
Fall of the House of Usher, The, [44], [161], [162], [167], [207].
Fantasy, influence on style, [92], [93].
Fiction, theory of, [197].
Fielding, Henry, [28], [192].
Figures of speech, [100], [114], [115].
Flaubert, Gustave, [27].
Frankenstein, [189].
Freeman, Mary E. Wilkins, [154].
Galsworthy, John, [88].
Genius, cultivation of, [23].
Greek, [130].
Hardy, Thomas, [88], [161].
Harrison, Henry Sydnor, [133].
Harte, Bret, [53], [59].
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, [29], [32], [58], [92], [93], [182], [203], [204].
Henry, O., [82].
House of the Dead, The, [58], [203].
House with the Green Shutters, The, [58], [94].
Hurst, Fannie, [76].
Hugo, Victor, [28], [52], [109], [192], [204].
Idiot, The, [208].
Il Penseroso, [94].
Imagination, [29].
Imagination and dialogue, [129].
Imitation, [33].
Information, [24].
Interest, [34], [35], [107], [108], [176], [185], [203].
Introduction, [67], [81], [82].
James, Henry, [56].
Jean Christophe, [28], [192].
Journal of the Plague Year, A, [98].
Kidnapped, [53], [96].
Kipling, Rudyard, [44], [68], [82], [99], [120], [198].
L'Allegro, [94].
La Peau de Chagrin, [98].
Latin, [130].
Legeia, [167].
Length, [86].
Les Miserables, [28], [192], [204].
Literalness, in dialogue, [126], [127].
Lodging for the Night, A, [110], [137], [174], [175].
London, Jack, [71], [75], [198].
Lost World, The, [204].
Macbeth, [157].
Mannerisms in dialogue, [143], [144].
Markheim, [44], [55], [56], [159], [169], [179].
Master of Ballantrae, The, [91].
Material, accessibility of, [22].
Matter, choice of
Selection, [30].
Sincerity, [31].
Adventure, [32].
Common problems, [32].
Originality, [33].
Novelty and worth, [33].
Elements of literature, [34].
Interest, [34].
Elements of interest, [35].
Matter, significance of, [205].
Maupassant, Guy de, [44], [105], [168].
Meredith, George, [92].
Merry Men, The, [153], [155], [161], [162].
Milton, John, [94].
Monsieur Beaucaire, [71].
Narration, [105], [106], [107], [136], [147].
Narration, constructive technique of
Importance, [64].
Plot and situation, [65].
Spiritual values, [66].
Order of events, [67].
Introduction, [67].
Primary and secondary events, [68].
Climax, [70].
Naturalness, [70].
Preparation, [70], [73].
End of story, [72].
Proportion, [76].
General Considerations, [78].
Narration, executive technique of
Mode of narration, [80].
First person narration, [81].
Variation, [81].
Advantages of mode, [81].
Disadvantages, [82].
Plausibility, [84].
Third person narration, [84].
Advantages, [84].
Avoidance of artificiality, [85].
Length, [86].
Viewpoint, [86].
Attitude of author, [88].
Style, [90].
Congruity of manner, [92].
Story of action, [92].
Story of character, [93].
Method of narration, [97].
Story of commonplace, [97].
Story of bizarre, [98].
Vividness, [98].
Suspense, [100].
Emphasis and suppression, [101].
Expansion and vividness, [101].
Primary and secondary events, [102].
Transition, [104].
Blending of elements, [105].
Naturalness, [143].
Naturalness of dialogue, [126].
Nature, conflict with as plot, [52].
Necklace, The, [105], [168].
New Arabian Nights, The, [91], [93].
New England, [154], [155].
Note on Realism, A, [13], [90], [91].
Notre Dame de Paris, [109].
Novel, [38], [54], [87].
Novel and romance, [182].
Romanticism and realism, [183].
Technique of forms, [185].
Incoherence of novel, [186].
Novel as medium for self-expression, [186].
Interpolation of comment, [187].
Simplicity, [188].
Inclusiveness of novel, [190].
Personality, [190].
Action, [191].
Length, [191].
Initial idea, [192].
Singleness of story, [193].
Social emphasis, [196].
Novelty, [33].
Observation, [24].
Our Mutual Friend, [192], [193].
Outcasts of Poker Flat, The, [53], [59].
Personality, [198].
Persons, description of, [110].
Philosophy of Composition, The, [167].
Philosophy of fiction, [202].
Pickwick Papers, The, [92], [193].
Plausibility, [68], [69], [103].
Plot, [139], [148], [189], [197], [207], [208].
Definition, [48], [50].
Character and plot, [49].
Dramatic value, [50].
Complication, [51].
Interest, [51].
Plot as problem, [52].
Three basic themes, [52].
Conflict between man and nature, [52].
Conflict between man and man, [54].
Conflict within the man, [55].
Arrangement, [56].
Climax, [57].
Major situations, [60].
Climax and plot, [61].
Situation, [61].
Plot for short story, [168], [169].
Poe, Edgar Allan, [44], [51], [84], [93], [161], [162], [167], [168], [169], [170], [180], [207].
Point of view, [86], [116].
Polti, Georges, [62].
Practice, [96].
Prejudice, [26].
Preparation, [73].
Preparation of reader for climax, [156].
Pride and Prejudice, [189].
Problem in fiction, [52].
Problem novel, [187].
Problem, story or plot as, [50].
Proportion, [76], [102].
Provincialism, [26].
Psychological story, [55].
Reade, Charles, [191].
Reading, [26].
Realism, [182], [189], [199].
Reporting and literature, [45].
Return of the Native, The, [161].
Rhetoric, [95], [109], [110].
Richardson, Samuel, [86].
Robinson Crusoe, [98], [208].