STORY WRITING.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13905, 2 December 1910, Page 8

STORY WRITING.

« THE LONDON MARKET. Talking of his attempts, whilst in i England, to gain a footing in English magazines and to get English pub- j lisheis to accept works of fiction written by him. Mr J. Liddell Kelly enlightened a representative of "The Press," regarding the difficulties that the Colonial aspirant for literary fame i.s beset with in the world's metropolis. Having obtained an introduction to the 'fiction-taster" of a large London publishing firm (who proved to be a "blither-Scot"), Mr Kelly outlined to nim the scope and scheme of two novels he had written. Said the fictiontaster: 'They won't do at all; the* people don't want such stories. ' He had made up his mind as to what the people wanted, and was determined to give them only what they wanted. One story, about 80,000 words, was too short ; another, 120,000 words, was too toiler, ln'uddition to writing for the market, the author has to write the exact len-j-th : if his story is a page or a chanter too long, they are cut out. The idea seems to be that there is a brick wall to be built, that you have to put so many bricks into it, and that they must be* all real bricks! Mr Keflv remarked that he had one story dealing with lovo and adventure and public~*que__ions in New Zealand. "I tell you, sir," came the reply, "tho people hero don't care a hang for New Zealand, and don't want stories about it. They want to read a story, no matter where the scene is pitched, whether anywhere or nowhere, but it must be exciting, next door to impossible, and it must be clever. And before you get any stories of that sort published, you will have to start writing good short stories and humorous stories—they aro always, in demand — and when you have established a name you can approach the editors with a serial, or the publishers with a book. Like every other trade, you have to serve your apprenticeship to storywriting." Air rvelly was informed that the demand was for humorous, frivolous, light literature, including love stories, and stories of impossible .intrigue. "If you want to get on in literature." was another remark of the fiction-taster, "don't come to London; keep as far away as possible from it. Though it i 3 the Lest market for literature, it is not necessary for a man to come to London to be successful. London is over-crowded with literary fame, and close contact w*ith literary men has led mc to the conclusion that the further away they are the better: they are clever devils, but—objectionable at close quarters!" "So," added Mr Kelly, "the aspiring New jZenlander may take it that if his story is good) and if it is what the British public wants, or what the fiction-taster thinks the British public wants, it will have* just as much chance of acceptance if forwarded from the Dominion, as if he travelled with his manuscript to London and personally submitted it to fiction-tasters and possible publishers."