Some masters of fiction
In Kidnapped, the defence of the cabin on board the privateer strongly evidences the power of Vision; still earlier in the book is a more sudden effect in the ghastly discovery the hero makes at the top of the steps up which his treacherous uncle had sent him. In The Black Arrow, by the same master-hand, the scene of the apparition of the supposed leper is a marvellous instance of this faculty.
I might quote many remarkable examples from Oliver Twist, from The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, from The Cloister and the Hearth, and other masterpieces, in illustration of my meaning. There is more than one wonderful instance in John Inglesant, notably the passage in which the reader is made to see Strafford almost without a description of his apparition.
These illustrations are more or less evidences of direct Vision, the pictures presented seem to have been at once photographed on the mental sight; but many remarkable instances could be cited in which the effects are produced by a series of touches so exquisitely blended together, that the impression produced is that of a solid whole. In The Woodlanders there are examples of almost unrivalled truth of Vision, presented by a series of richly coloured touches. In the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice we have another feature of the power of Vision, the incisive presentation of character in the dialogue between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet; this so completely impresses both characters on the reader’s mind, that the concluding words of the chapter seem superfluous.
In A Foregone Conclusion, by Mr. Howells, we recognise an extremely subtle power of Vision; we can scarcely say how the persons have become familiar to us, yet we seem to know that they are alive, and that they were distinctly seen by the writer; there is the same power in Silas Lapham. It may be said that I have only given examples from the Masters of Fiction. I could have given many others from the books of far less popular writers, but I believe in a high ideal, for one can never reach one’s aim, and it is well always to be striving upwards.
Essential qualities for writing fiction
The outcome of the question, then, seems to be that beginners in the art of novel-writing are able to test themselves as to their power of Vision with regard to Fiction; they will soon discover whether they can master the difficulty of creating a forcible and distinct picture in their minds of the subject they propose to treat; they must see it distinctly, and it must be lasting; they must see not only the outer forms of characters, but their inner feelings; they must think their thoughts, they must try to hear their words.
It is possible that the picture may not all be seen at once; the earnest student may have to wait days before he sees anything, weeks before he vividly and truthfully sees the whole. I can only say, let him wait with patience and hope, and above all let him firmly believe that novel-writing is not easy; possibly, in spite of earnestness and diligence, the beginner has made a mistake, and has not the necessary gifts for success in Fiction. Well then, if after many trials he cannot call up a picture which is at the same time distinct and true to Nature, he had better bring himself to believe that his attempt is not a creation of the imagination, it is at best but a passing fancy, not worth the trouble of writing down. One more counsel. There are three qualities as essential to success in novel-writing as the power of Vision: they are Patience, Perseverance, and an untiring habit of taking pains.
ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHARACTER IN FICTION
Maxwell Gray