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CHAPTER LXXII 357 facts herein contained, do not then regard your education as com- pleted. Do not feel that at last you are fully competent to write plays. You are not. You have merely advanced yourself to the point where, through this knowledge of facts, you are now ready to begiti the serious study of photoplay writing. You have the fun- damental knowledge. Now you must learn to apply it. 4. No shoemaker ever made his first pair of shoes without proper preparatory work. He had to learn to sew leather, to cut out the parts, to assemble them and, even then, it is probable that his first complete shoes were a botch. He had to spoil much leather before he could master his trade. It is precisely the same with photoplay writing save that, being a higher accomplishment, it will require more practice to gain proficiency. 5. But do not let this discourage you. There will come many times when you will be ready to abandon the work. There will be very many dark days when you will feel that you have wasted and are wasting your time. Such periods come to us all; even to the practiced and established writers. It would be strange indeed were you to ,be the sole exception to the general rule. If you are a quit- ter; if you are lacking in perseverance, stop the first time the mood grips you. Faint heart wins neither fame nor fair ladies. But if you are built of better stuff do not admit defeat. The setbacks and discouragements of today will enable you to avoid the more serious setbacks and discouragements of tomorrow. 6. Stick to it and keep plugging. Do not feel discouraged if you see some other person win a seeming success. All watch the rocket in ascent; few see the falling stick. No success ever was or can be built upon any other foundation than that of ample knowledge and experience. The new star may sell his plays as rapidly as he turns them out, but presently he will find that he cannot turn them out. 7. Some years ago a young sketch writer demanded of this author the reason for his "persecution." He was told that it was not per- secution but a somewhat drastic form of literary salvation. In less than two years his playlets had passed from brilliancy to mediocrity. He was rapidly exhausting his creative powers through taxing them too heavily before he had reached a proper mental development. He saw the point and stopped. After a rest he began again, but more modestly. Today he counts his play-built fortune in seven figures. 8. It is the same with all forms of creative art. You must build on the solid basis of preparation and not on the insecure structure of a native but untrained brilliancy. You may have a few , very good ideas. You may be able to write and sell these within a few months of your start, without study and without thought. Then you are a literary bankrupt. You have no more ideas and you do not know how to create them. You have eaten of the fruit, but you have planted no seed. 9. No matter what your inherent ability may be, work, and noth- ing but work, can develop your gifts to their fullness. Nothing else