The young author generally writes because he wants to write, either for
money, from vanity, or in mere weariness of empty hours and anxiety to
astonish his relations. This is well, he who would fail cannot begin
better than by having nothing to say. The less you observe, the less you
reflect, the less you put yourself in the paths of adventure and
experience, the less you will have to say, and the more impossible will
it be to read your work. Never notice people's manner, conduct, nor even
dress, in real life. Walk through the world with your eyes and ears
closed, and embody the negative results in a story or a poem. As to
Poetry, with a fine instinct we generally begin by writing verse, because
verse is the last thing that the public want to read. The young writer
has usually read a great deal of verse, however, and most of it bad. His
favourite authors are the bright lyrists who sing of broken hearts,
wasted lives, early deaths, disappointment, gloom. Without having even
had an unlucky flirtation, or without knowing what it is to lose a
favourite cat, the early author pours forth laments, just like the
laments he has been reading.
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