of subject or of treatment. Not the possible, but the probable,
should be the novelist's guide."[14]

The surest test of a usable plot is, "Is it natural?" Every plot is
founded upon fact, which may be utilized in its original form, or so
skillfully disguised or ingeniously distorted that it will seem like a
product of the imagination. In the first case the resulting story would
be termed realistic, in the second case romantic. A story built on a
plot that is an unvarnished fact will be of course a _True Story_; and
there are incidents and events in real life that need little more than
isolation to make them good stories. There is, however, a danger that
the novice may consider any matter usable which is true to life. Do not
forget that the short story is a form of art.[15]

The best plot is derived from the action of an artistic imagination on a
commonplace fact; the simpler and better known the fact is, the better
will it serve the purpose, for it must be accepted without question:
then it must be built up and developed by imaginative touches, always
with a view to plausibility, till it attains the dignity of a distinct
and interesting plot. Recent discoveries and the attainments of modern
science have introduced us to so many strange things that we have almost
ceased to doubt any statement which we may see in print; and writers
have become so ingenious in weaving together fact and fancy that their
tales are sometimes more plausible than truth itself. This was done with
peculiar skill by Poe. His story, now known as "The Balloon Hoax,"
originally appeared in the New York _Sun_ as a correspondent's account
of an actual occurrence. The tale gained credence through its remarkable
accuracy of detail in regard to recognized scientific principles, and
the fact that at that time the world was considerably agitated by
similar genuine feats of aerostation. As Poe makes one of his characters
to say, "the feat is only so feasible that the sole wonder is why men
have scrupled to attempt it before"--at least on paper.

Yet in spite of the many curious and interesting things that happen
daily, and in spite of the inventive faculty of the mind, it is
impossible to find a new plot. "History repeats itself" in small
affairs as well as in great, and the human mind has not changed
materially since the first days of story telling. Indeed, some one
has said that all the stories ever told can be traced to less than a
dozen original plot