20                                    Paul Gallico

for .]Litilda, everything I could find out about kangaroos; for The
Poseidon Adventirre, a library on marine architecture, ship build¬
ing, maintenance and engineering. This research also includes
interviews with experts. Added to this I have my own refer¬
ence library of encyclopedias, dictionaries, compilations, maps,
pamphlets, etc.

When all this material is gathered together, I am ready to begin
work and prepare an outline or synopsis of the story which can
run from ten to twenty pages, single spaced, interspersed with
notes and ideas for scenes or snatches of dialogue, and which con¬
tinues until I am satisfied that my story is complete.

On occasions when I feel I need it, I will write a character out¬
line or brief biography of each of the major characters, so as to be
completely familiar with each of theuL In these outlines much
information is given which never appears in the novel but which
I must know in order that characters may behave as they should
in accordance with their backgrounds.

When this is done, a cast of characters is typed out, each charac¬
ter named and something noted about the setting. This I keep
handy where I can see it. Often, even though I am bad at drawing,
I make a sketch of certain scenes or surroundings so that I can see
them and keep description of them clear and simple. The objective
is of course to enable the reader to see them equally clearly.

I am now ready to begin actual composition. I may start at the
beginning and drive through to the finish, or, if unsure of myself,
I may try a trial chapter somewhere in the middle of the book, or
towards the end, or just do an experimental opening which I know
I will not keep. Often it is somewhat like a fighter warming up in
the dressing room before entering the ring.

Until about 1950, I used to write everything myself on the
typewriter, a habit acquired during fourteen years as a sports-
writer. When, in the late 1940's, I temporarily lost the use of my
fingers through an illness, I was compelled to learn to dictate and
have done so ever since. I now have a permanent secretary. Miss