"Why I Wrote That Book."

The final installment in a "series in which writers open their personal notebooks for you," Bates opens by stating that he keeps no paper notebook; a note in his mind is like a "seed. This seed may lie dormant for a long time, perhaps years, before its germination. But it never dies."

He offers several examples of extremely accurate and detailed memories and images serving him long after his exposure to them. He also offers several examples of true life apparently imitating characters or situations in his novels.

In Everybody's Weekly (London, April 2, 1955, p. 25, attached).