putting words together is not writing; making fine sentences is not
writing; elaborating striking plots is not writing. Of all the arts,
literature is the most exacting mistress. With some idea of the
technique of painting, or music, coupled with a surface brilliance, you
may paint or sing or play. With even less equipment, you may act; but to
write, you must have lived, you must have suffered and known joy; you
must be able to analyze people, to understand their motives, to love
them. To write, you must have ideas and emotions. It is only when the
sources of your own being run deep that you can bring up waters of
refreshment for others."

He stopped to look at the girl, whom he had almost forgotten. Her face
startled him with its eagerness. Her eyes were shining and he found
himself commenting, subconsciously: "Why, she isn't so plain."

"Yes, please go on," she begged.

"Well, granted that you have learned something of the motives, the
passions, the sorrows that rack us humans, then you must also have your
medium in control. Have you ever thought about words, how wonderful they
are, how precious?"

She shook her head.

"Most people fail to. We think of the hackneyed old phrases we use in
the mechanics of living, but words are like little creatures that march
and fight and sing. They are like extra hands, and brains. Think of the
power of them! All the passions wait on them; they bring despair, hope,
courage, love; they are the golden exchange granted to man. Until you
get this sense of the choiceness, the fragility, the power of words, you
are not ready to transcribe your thoughts."

"But how can I learn about words?"

"Read the best books, get the feel of them. Study style, add words to
your possession as a miser adds coins. Have you ever studied
composition?"

"A little in High School."

"Frankly, I doubt if you can ever write. I see no gleam of a gift in
these things you have brought me. They are sentimental and silly. But if
you should want to learn something about this great art----"

"Oh, I do," said Jane earnestly.

"Very well, I will give you a list of books to begin with. You must get
a position so that you can support yourself, then study when you can.
Write all the time; get facility with words, then tear it up. Don't try
to sell things. Begin to watch people; get abreast of events. Read the
papers and the magazines in the library. Read Shakespeare, Fielding,
Dickens, Thackeray, Bunyan, Mere