Motion Picture Classic (Jan-Aug 1919)

CLASSIC he had just gotten married. His mother asked him about the young lady. “Well,” he said, “she is the daughter of a minister, and she has been married before, but she’s not quite as old as I am; she’s five.” “Who was her first husband?” asked Mrs. Alexander. “I dont know,” answered Ben, “but I dont think she liked him much or she wouldn’t have divorced him.” “Oh, she divorced him, did she? And when were you married?” “This morning. We got the book out of her father’s library and he read out of it. But we didn’t have a ring and her father wouldn’t lend me one.” This, of course, ruined the ceremony. Ben has never worked in a picture where the marriage ceremony was performed without a ring, so he and his little sweetheart will have to get married all over again. The photographer was making pictures to go with this story. “I wish Ben had a dog,” he said. “I’d like to show him holding one in his arms.” “I tell you,” Ben said to the photographer ; “ ’Lizabeth will be the dog.” (Doubtless the photographer would have agreed to this suggestion if he had known what a very good dog I can pretend to be. I once chased Ben all over the lot at the Brunton studio with the firm intention of biting him, because he spanked me, and I would have done it, too, if he hadn’t slipped on the gravel walk and skinned up his knees and elbows and hadn’t cried.) “What kind of a dog is it ?” asked the photographer, who can pretend a little himself on occasion. “A collie,” said Ben. The photographer shook his head. “Sorry, Ben, but I couldn’t possibly use a collie.” And the day was saved. Is the Land of Make-Believe real? Why, of course it is ! How else, than by living in it, could a boy of six, by his own efforts, achieve greatness ? And Ben has achieved greatness ; he is known all over the world. After all, no one can say with absolute surety that fairies do not exist, because he or she has never happened to have seen one. Perhaps the mother who destroys her child’s dream by carelessly saying “There is no such thing” is destroying her little one’s chance for future happiness ! Every one has lived in the Land of Make-Believe at some time or other, and it is not absolutely necessary to leave it behind as you go down the years. So the first verse of “Over the Hills and Far Away” isn’t sad at all. Remember? Over the hills and far away, A little boy steals from his morning play, And under the blossoming apple tree. He lies and dreams of the things to be; Of battles fought and of victories won; Of wrongs o’erthrown and of great deeds done; Of the valor that he shall prove some day, Over the hills and far away. Over the hills and far away. ( Seventy -nine) Millions oP People Can A^ite Stories and Photoplays and Don't Know It/ This is .the startling assertion recently made by E. B. Davison of New York, one of the highest paid writers in the world. Is his astonishing statement true? Can it be possible there are countless thousands of people yearning to write, who really can and simply haven’t found it out? Well, come to think of it, ’most anybody can tell a story. Why can’t ’most anybody write a story? Why is writing supposed to be a rare gift that few possess? Isn’t this only another of the Mistaken Ideas the past has handed down to us? Yesterday nobody dreamed man could fly. To-day he dives like a swallow ten thousand feet above the earth and laughs down at the tiny mortal atoms of his fellowmen below! So Yesterday’s “impossibility” is a reality to-day. “The time will come,’* writes the same authority, “when millions of people will be writers — there will be countless thousands oi playwrights, novelists, scenario, magazine and newspaper writers — they are coming, coming — a whole new world of them!” And do yoix know what these writers-tobe are doing now? Why, they are the men — armies of them — youn^ and old, now doing mere clerical work, in offices, keeping books, selling merchandise, or even driving trucks, running elevators, street cars, waiting on tables, working at barber chairs, following the plow, or teaching schools in the rural districts; and women, young and old, by scores, now pounding typewriters, or standing behind counters, or running spindles in factories, bending over sewing machines, or doing housework. Yes — you may laugh — but these are the Writers of To-morrow. For writing isn’t only for geniuses as most people think. Don’t you believe the creator gave you a story-writing faculty just as he did the greatest writer? Only maybe you are simply “bluffed” by the thought that you “haven’t the gift.” Many people are simply afraid to try. Or if they do try, and their first efforts don’t satisfy, they simply give up in despair, and that ends it. They’re through. They never try again. Yet if, by some lucky chance, they had first learned the simple rules of writing, and then given the Imagination free rein they might have astonished the world! But two things are essential in order to become' a writer. First, to learn the ordinary principles of writing. Second, to learn to exercise your faculty of Thinking. By exercising a thing you develop it. Your Imagination is something like your right arm. ^ The more you use it the stronger it gets. The principles of writing are no more complex than the principles of spelling, arithmetic, or any other simple thing that anybody knows. Writers learn to piece together a story as easily as a child sets up a miniature house with his toy blocks. It is amazingly easy after the mind grasps the simple “know how.” A little study, a little patience, a little confidence, and the thing that looks hard turns out to be just as easy as it seemed difficult. Thousands of people imagine they need a fine education in order to write. Nothing is farther from the truth. The greatest writers were the poorest scholars. People rarely learn to wjrite at schools. They may get the principles there, but they really learn to write from the great, wide, open, boundless Book of Humanity! Yes, seething all around you, every day, every hour, e V e r y minute, in the whirling v o r t e x — the flotsam and jetsam of Life — even in your own home, at work or play, are endless incidents for stories and plays — a wealth of material, a world of things happening. Every one of these has the seed of a story or play in it. Think! If you went to a fire, or saw an accident, you could come home and tell the folks all about it. Unconsciously you would describe it all very realistically. And if somebody stood by and wrote down exactly what you said, you’d be amazed to find your story would sound just as interesting as many you’ve read in magazines or seen on the screen. Now, you will _ naturally say, “Well, if Writing is as simple as you say it is, why can’t I learn to write? Who says you can’t? Listen! A wonderful free book has recently been written on this very subject — a book that tells all about a Startling New Easy Method of Writing Stories and Photoplays. This amazing book, called “The W onder Book for Writers/’ shows how easily stories and plays are conceived, written perfected, sold. How many who don’t dream they can write, suddenly find it out. How the Scenario Kings and the Story Queens live and work. How bright men and women, without any special experience, learn to their own amazement that their simplest ideas may furnish brilliant plots for Plays and Stories. How one’s own Imagination may provide an endless gold-mine of Ideas that bring Happy Success and Handsome Cash Royalties, How new writers get their names into print. How to tell if you are a writer. How to develop your “story fancy,*^ weave clever word-pictures and unique, thrilling, realistic plots. How your friends may be your worst judges. How to avoid discouragement and the pitfalls of Failure. How to winl This surprising book is absolutely free. No charge. No obligation. Your copy is waiting for you. Write for it now. Get it. Ifs yours. Then you can pour your whole soul into this magic new enchantment that has come into your life — story and play^ writing. The lure of it, the love of it, the luxury of it will fill your wasted hours and dull moments with profit and pleasure. You will have thf^ noble, absorbing, money-making new^ profession! And all in your spare time, without interfering with your regularjob. Who says you can’t make money with your brain? Who cays you can’t turn your Thoughts into cash! Who says you can’t make your dreams come true! Nobodj?knows— the book will tell you. So why waste any more time wondering, dreaming, waiting? Simply fill out the coupon below — your’re not buying anything, you’re getting it absolutely free. A book that may prove the Book of Your Destiny. A Magic Book through which men and women, young and old, may learn, to turn their spare hours into cash! Get your letter in the mail before you sleep to-night. Who knows — it may mean for you the Dawn of a New To-morrow! Just address The Authors* Press, Dept. 37, Auburn, New York. THE AUTHORS* PRESS, Dept. 37, Auburn, N. Y. Send me absolutely free “THE WONDER BOOK FOR WRITERS.” This does not obligate me in any way. Name. Address. City and State LETTERS LIKE THIS ARE POURING IN! “With this volume before liim, the veriest novice should be able to build stories or photoplays that will find a ready market.. The best treatise of its kind I have encountered in 24 years of newspaper and literary work." — H. PiKRCE Weller, Managing Editor, The Binghamton Press. “If anyone wants to make money writing, the first thing they should do is to get this book — and study it through and through." — M. G. Wynn, St. Paul, Minn. “I sold my first play in. less than three weeks after getting your book." — Thelma Almer, Helena, Mont. “It Is the most sensible thing X ever read on the subject. “ — J. D. Burleson, Hereford, Tex. “Mr. Irving has so simplified story and photoplay writing that anyone with ordinary intelligence ought to master it quickly. I am having no trouble in selling my stories and plays now." — B. M. James, Dallas, Texas. “Received the book. I could give myself a shaking, if possible, for not sending long ago. -Why, everything is so plain a blind person could see." — Rosa Beard, Nelsonville, O. "I have already sold a synopsis — written according to Mr. Irving's instructions — for $500.00, and some short sketches for smaller sums." — David Clark, Portland, Ore. “Your book opened' my eyes to great possibilities. I received my first check t o d a y — $175.00." — H. Barlow, Louisville, Ky. “It is the most complete and practical book ever written on the subject of writing." — Harry Schultz, Kitchener, Ont. “The book is all, and more, than you claim it to be." — W. T. Watson, Whitehall, N. Y. “I am delighted with the book beyond the power of words to express." — Laura Davis, Wenatchee, Wash.