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EVOLVING A PLOT 75 fall to not more than four or five persons. More active char- acters will be confusing and the audience cannot carry all of the identifications in their heads. Use as many persons as the story needs, but make prominent only a few and let them tell the story. The butler who brings in the letter is a character, but he does not figure prominently. The maid who assists her mistress to elope is important. And lastly, let me make a plea for the plot with the happy ending. There are many "strong" stories where a happy end- ing is possible, but you are not required to write these. Write the wholesome, joyous story and leave the morbid and the un- pleasant to others. The temptation is strong to write the tragic plot, but the demand is for pleasant things. You may be im- pressed with "Romeo and Juliet," but the greater appeal is made by the heart interest story and the demand is so much more urgent for this class of plays that you will find it profitable to hold to pleasant things and leave the tragic to others. CHAPTER XI. EVOLVING A PLOT Deriving plots from nothing — from the title — from a start— from a climax—knowledge of the subject necessary— writing to order — from suggestion. Various writers have differing ideas as to the best manner of evolving the plot. The beginner will, for a time, do well to wait for inspiration, to wait until he has a story to write be- fore he starts to write it, but even the beginner can find good practise and instruction in the evolution of the plot from nothing. The best plot is apt to be the one that conies to you naturally and seems almost to write itself. That story is almost certain to be better than the one that is manufactured, but the writer cannot always wait for these inspirations and it is well to learn how to create a plot from a suggestion so slight that it seems to be nothing. One favorite way is to think up a catchy title and write a story to fit the title. Suppose that we take "His Happy Home," which is the first that occurs. That sort of title is equally applicable to a drama or a farce, but as a farce the title should be a sar-