e different sheets, so that in order to
write his story he must first rearrange his notes entirely. He may
regroup these mentally while writing, by jumping with his eye up and
down the pages, hunting on the backs of some sheets, and twisting his
head sideways to get notes written crosswise on others. But all this
takes valuable time,--so much, indeed, that the wise reporter will have
on hand, either in his mind or on paper, a definite plan for his story.

=89. Accuracy.=--That the reorganization of one's notes preparatory to
writing will aid accuracy of statement and of presentation needs little
argument. To paraphrase Herbert Spencer's words on reading: A reporter
has at each moment but a limited amount of mental power available. To
recognize and interpret the facts recorded in his notes requires part of
his power; to strike in ordered sequence the typewriter keys that will
put those facts on paper requires an additional part; and only that part
which remains can be used for putting his ideas into forceful, accurate
sentences. Hence, the more time and attention it takes to read and
understand one's notes, the less time and attention can be given to
expressing the ideas, and the less vividly will those ideas be
presented. Moreover, when a writer attempts to compose from jumbled
notes, because of his attention being riveted on expressing clearly and
forcefully what he has jotted down, he is liable to include in his story
facts that do not properly belong there, or to omit some illegibly
written but important item, and so fail to present the incidents fairly
and accurately.

=90. Interest.=--Finally, the third reason for ordering one's notes
carefully before writing is to insure interest to the reader. The same
story almost always can be presented in several different ways. Every
story, too, must possess a specific point, a _raison d'etre_: as, the
heinousness of the crime, the cleverness of the brigands, the loneliness
of the widow. This _point_ of the story, this angle from which the
reporter writes, is determined largely by the writer's selection of
details, which in turn is dominated by the policy of the paper and the
interest of the readers. If the paper and its patrons care particularly
for humorous stories, certain dolorous facts are omitted or placed in
unimportant positions, and the readers have a fair but amusing view of
the occurrence. If they favor sob stories, the same incident, by a
different selection or a