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How does Sargent (1916, Ch. XIX) say a writer produces charm and distinction, and what does he leave unsaid about producing distinction?

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1916 US practice. For charm Sargent gives a preparation method: do not take the first plot or development; settle the whole line of progression in your head before writing; build technical fluency so you never stop to ask what comes next; tell the story so the telling is hidden, with people who seem flesh and blood; keep to naturalness over artifice (his Copperfield gloss). Two later chapters repeat the point (dancer's elevation, Ch. XXIII; forced by-play kills charm, Ch. XXXIII). For distinction he gives no procedure: only 'individuality of the theme' and the statement that a writer can give some plays distinction. He also says charm can be lost or added in production and masked by actors.

1916 US practice. For charm Sargent gives a preparation method: do not take the first plot or development; settle the whole line of progression in your head before writing; build technical fluency so you never stop to ask what comes next; tell the story so the telling is hidden, with people who seem flesh and blood; keep to naturalness over artifice (his Copperfield gloss). Two later chapters repeat the point (dancer's elevation, Ch. XXIII; forced by-play kills charm, Ch. XXXIII). For distinction he gives no procedure: only 'individuality of the theme' and the statement that a writer can give some plays distinction. He also says charm can be lost or added in production and masked by actors. Curator qualifications: Heart interest, charm and distinction verified as Sargent definitions, with Chesterton quoted as a third party; unsupported trade assertions are flagged by the producer. The -07 review list is derived from the source and its table procedure is a proposal. Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.
Structured fields
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://archive.org/stream/techniqueofphoto00sarg/techniqueofphoto00sarg_djvu.txt",
      "note": "sar.flat (a3cff7eb) offsets per candidate"
    }
  ]
}

Evidence claims

  • [sourced_fact] 1916 US practice. For charm Sargent gives a preparation method: do not take the first plot or development; settle the whole line of progression in your head before writing; build technical fluency so you never stop to ask what comes next; tell the story so the telling is hidden, with people who seem flesh and blood; keep to naturalness over artifice (his Copperfield gloss). Two later chapters repeat the point (dancer's elevation, Ch. XXIII; forced by-play kills charm, Ch. XXXIII). For distinction he gives no procedure: only 'individuality of the theme' and the statement that a writer can give some plays distinction. He also says charm can be lost or added in production and masked by actors. · locator: sar.flat (a3cff7eb) offsets per candidate source

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