human
Miss Judd, he began,
gpt
I've read these stories of yours and I want to give you a bit of advice. Are you trying to make a living out of this kind of thing?
human
Yes, sir.
gpt
Can you do anything else to support yourself?
human
I don't know.
gpt
Where have you lived?
human
You're alone in the world?
gpt
Yes.
human
Unmarried?
gpt
Yes.
human
May I tell you quite frankly how I feel about your case?
gpt
I wish you would.
human
You make the common mistake of thinking that anybody can write. Now, 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.
gpt
Why, she isn't so plain.
human
Yes, please go on,
gpt
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?
human
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.
gpt
But how can I learn about words?
human
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?
gpt
A little in High School.
human
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----
gpt
Oh, I do,
human
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, Meredith, Barrie, and Galsworthy. You might even try Shaw.
gpt
Oh, I will!
human
I don't often inflict an hour's lecture upon unprotected young women, Miss Judd.
gpt
I can't tell you how grateful I am. This is just what I needed.
human
You get to work. When you are absolutely confident that you have got something good, come and see me again.
gpt
Thank you, I will.