skance, and probably rejected.

[Footnote 28: See synopsis in Chapter VIII.]

CHAPTER XVII

WHAT YOU SHOULD WRITE

"With inventiveness and imagination the most commonplace, the
everyday-life subject, such as the ills and cares we have to bear,
becomes, by a proper exposition of human nature under those
conditions, a story both entertaining and instructive. But
_entertaining_ first, instructive second; to _try_ to be instructive
is to cease to be entertaining.

"The strength of a story consists in the eloquence, vividness,
and sincerity with which a given problem in human life or
character is presented. Human nature is made up of all sorts of
traits--selfishness, cupidity, self-sacrifice, courage, loyalty. All
life is made up ... of a compromise between elements in the struggle
for happiness. These elements make for the story, happiness being the
chief factor for which humanity is searching."

Though written for short-story writers, these words from an article by
Mr. Floyd Hamilton Hazard are so true, and so applicable to the
writing of photoplays, that we reproduce them here.

Substantially similar ideas were advanced by Mr. Daniel Frohman, the
theatrical impresario, in an interview in the New York _Sun_, and no
one will doubt the close relationship which exists between the
general principles of plot-structure as applied to the "legitimate"
drama and to the photoplay.

We may now see the first big element in all vitally dramatic themes:

_1. The Human Appeal_

"Your script," wrote a certain editor in returning a young writer's
photoplay, "needs to be introduced to the 'H.I.' twins--Heart Interest
and Human Interest. Those two elements are responsible for the sale of
more manuscripts than anything else with which the writer has to do."

In choosing a theme for your photoplay, then, constantly bear in mind
the great truth that, no matter how original, how interesting, or how
cleverly constructed your plot may be, it will be sadly lacking unless
it contains a goodly percentage of one or both of these desirable
qualities. The frequently-quoted formula of Wilkie Collins, "Make 'em
laugh, make 'em cry, make 'em wait," simply sums up the proper
procedure when you set out to win the interest and sympathy of the
spectators. "The greatest aid in selling scripts is the injection of
the human-interest bits. Every effective bit of business concisely
told helps the sale because it helps the editor," Mr. Sargen