Writing the Short-Story by J. Berg Esenwein was published in 1908. According to Wikipedia it is one of the first creative writing manuals. When Esenwein wrote it he was the editor of Lippincott's Magazine.
So
clearly the information was going to be a little dated. But I thought
it would be fun to see what, if anything, I could learn from this book.
Don't expect a review, just a summary of things I thought were
interesting for one reason or another. Some still make sense. A few will astonish you.
* Let's start with something that appears near the end of the book which I am sure will move the hearts of all the writers out there. In discussing the processing of submitting stories to magazines Esenwein asks: how long should you wait to hear from an editor? "If you do not get an answer in three weeks, it may be wise to drop a line courteously asking for a decision, but you had better wait the month out." That sound you just heard was the rueful laughter of thousands of authors. In today's modern age of mad speed and instant communication, well... I have fourteen stories out waiting for judgment by editors. The wait is currently an average of 131 days, with the median being 95 days. Considerably more than four weeks.
* Esenwein tells us the oldest known story is in The Westcar Papyrus. I had never heard of it but it turns out to be an Egyptian manuscript from roughly 1600 BCE, although the stories seem to be a millennium older. The tales are about priests and magicians doing amazing things. If you have ever heard that cutting an animal in half and restoring it to life is "the oldest trick in the book," this papyrus is the book.
* "Men are often interested in fictional characters whom they would not care to know in life."
* Mystery writers "all introduce the detective, amateur or professional, for the purpose of unraveling the mystery before the reader's very eyes and yet concealing the key-thread until the last. Sometimes the web of entanglement is woven also in full sight -- with the author's sleeves rolled up as a guarantee of good faith; and the closer you watch the less you see."
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| Esenwein |
* Character "names should be fitting. Phyllis ought not to weigh two hundred, nor ought Tommy to commit suicide. Luther must not be a burglar, Maud a washerwoman, nor John spout tepid romance. The wrong surname will handicap a character as surely as the wrong pair of hands. Hardscrabble does not fit the philanthropist any more than Tinker suggests the polished diplomat, or Darnaway the clergyman."
* "A man who has a stirring fact or a thrilling experience has not a story until he has used it in some proper way - has constructed it, has built it." - Walter Page
* Esenwein gives us a list of things a short story is not: an episode, a scenario or synopsis, a biography, a mere sketch, or a tale. In a tale "events take a simple course," but in a short-story "this course is interrupted by a complication."
* "Never write back sarcastic letters when your offerings are rejected. You may need that editor some day."
* Some themes for stories may just "pop into your mind." "Sir, Madame, I am a Story. Write me up!" I wish that would happen more often.
*The advice on the left will make most modern writers, not to say editors, shudder in horror.
* Sir Arthur Phelps quotes an anonymous friend: "Whenever you write a sentence that particularly pleases you, CUT IT OUT." An early statement of "Kill your darlings."
* "Whatever may be the thing which one wishes to say, there is but one word for expressing it, only one verb to animate it, only one adjective to qualify it. It is essential to search for this word, for this verb, for this adjective, until they are discovered, and to be satisfied with nothing else." - Flaubert
* "Write at white heat because you can think big thoughts only under stress of emotion; but revise in a cool mood."
* Esenwein criticizes writers who "debase their gifts by presenting distorted views of life, placing false values upon the things of experience, and picturing unclean situations -- all for the sake of gain." Thank heavens that never happens anymore.
This is getting long so I will give you the rest of Esenwein's wisdom next Monday. See you then!
Esenwein, who died two days after I was born -- although I can find no causality there, is perhaps best known for his contributions to Charles Dudley Warner's LIBRARY OF THE WORLD'S BEST LITERATURE. In some circles, however, he is better known for editing the first true anthology of science fiction, ADVENTURES TO COME (McLaughlin Bros., 1937; which is also the first SF anthology of original stories) -- edging out Donald A. Wollheim's POCKET BOOK OF SCIENCE FICTION by five years. Esenwein's book is apparently a rather forgettable collection of nine juvenile stories by eight unknown authors; only one of whom went on to any fame -- Jack Arnold, who in the Fifties directed such movies as IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE, CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, and THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN. I happen to own one of Esenwein's anthologies, CALLING ALL BOYS, and it is pitiful -- as, I suppose, are many of his other anthologies such as REAL STORIES FOR REAL GIRLS, SPORT AND ADVENTURE, and SPIRITED HORSES AND DARING DOGS...
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, Jerry. Thanks.
DeleteThe more things change . . . I particularly liked the different detective story points, and the advice "To make a first-class short-story longer would be to spoil it."
ReplyDeleteEsenwein will have some more to say about the detective story in Monday's addition.
DeleteI enjoyed those. Although I think the advice about names can be wrong: Agatha Christie's Ariadne Oliver is rather the exact opposite of a Cretan princess, and I'm sure Agatha thought it added to the amusement.
ReplyDeleteChristie created a character named Diana Harmon who looked nothing like a Diana so everyone called her Bunch.
DeleteYes! She was Miss Marple's niece who married a vicar and showed up in a few stories.
DeleteI think some modern writers are still following Esenwein's dialogue attribution advice. "Not that I've ever been guilty of this literary transgression", she amended
ReplyDelete* "Men are often interested in fictional characters whom they would not care to know in life." And most women wouldn't want to date, much less marry, the heroes in mystery/suspense. "How many bad guys did you kill today, darling?" That's why it's fiction. That's why it's fun to read.
ReplyDeleteI have often said that if anyone other Dr Watson lived with Holmes they would have bashed him to death with his own violin.
DeleteMo, love your comment! So true. Melodie
DeleteWhat fun! And yes, I am chortling about the 'how long should you wait?" Do you know, I remember in the early 90s, I would send in a story, and would usually get a phone call a week later, saying they were taking it! They would actually phone to let you know, right after the editor had read it. Those were the days before computers, when you had to type the whole thing yourself at a typewriter, and retype if you wanted to make changes. The market was not as flooded then, I guess. And heck, I'm not THAT old!! (started submitting as a teen)
ReplyDeleteI received a phone call from an editor once, asking if a story I had sent LONG ago was still available. It was. He bought it.
DeleteThis is wonderful! Thanks for posting this. I'm looking forward to the next installment. Some of this is SO current.
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed. Except for the fancy speech tags (which were still in use a few decades ago), the book sounds like an excellent primer for new writers. I've read modern damn-I-still-have-40,000-words-to-go books that had far less value.
ReplyDeleteAs for editors taking so much longer now, we fail to credit our modern technologies, especially computerized writing, grammar checking, spell-checking, auto-formatting apps, and the genius of email that instantly places the work in front of the editor. For example, in 1980, I could drive to a favorite Orlando location in less than 20 minutes. Orlando has contracted studies, changed lanes in streets, widened highways and added a new toll road through the middle of Orlando. To reach the same location now takes 40 minutes, double the time. Miss Marple got it when she noted that modern improvements aren't what the seem.
There's a lot less dust in this than I expected. I especially like the note about sending sarcastic notes to editors, ahaha!
ReplyDelete