If he chooses to sketch
an interesting character, he will make his sketch richer and
more interesting if he reads all he can find that illuminates
his subject's background. If he sets out to tell a legend or a
series of related folk tales or anecdotes, he will improve his
telling by reading what he can on the subjects that his
proposed narratives treat of and by reading similar
narratives already written by others. If he wishes to tell
what he knows about rattlesnakes, buzzards, pet coyotes,
Brahma cattle, prickly pear, cottonwoods, Caddo Lake, the
Brazos River, Santa Fe adobes, or other features of the land,
let him bolster and put into perspective his own knowledge by
reading what others have said on the matter. Knowledge fosters
originality. Reading gives ideas.
The list of subjects that follows is meant to be suggestive,
and must not be regarded as inclusive. The best subject for
any writer is one that he is interested in. A single name or
category may afford scores of subjects. For example, take Andy
Adams, the writer about cowboys and range life. His campfire
yarns, the attitude of his cowboys toward their horses, what
he has to say about cows, the metaphor of the range as he has
recorded it, the placidity of his cowboys as opposed to Zane
Grey sensationalism, etc.
Pages:
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285