Interlude: The Sorrows of Young Werther (1)

For those attempting to write a novel for the first time, most veteran authors recommend practicing three things.

Read widely. Read a lot.

Write prolifically. Write a lot.

Think deeply. Think a lot.

The author who had recently completed ‘The Stars Bloom in the Fog’ and then abandoned all three heroine candidates in a ‘realistic’ development now lacked the nerve to show his face at the salons.

Holder of the Imperial Daily’s Golden Pencil.

Winner of the Fifth Jean Renouville Award.

Vaseline was furrowing his brow in a bookstore today as he upheld the principle of reading widely.

Of course, he knew that.

If he wanted to find the formula for serialized newspaper novels, the quickest way was to buy and read newspapers rather than frequent bookstores...