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By the time London returned home, his stepfather had died. It then became his responsibility to provide for his family all by himself. Desperate for a job, he spent entire days walking around the Oakland business district. Occasionally he found a temporary job. He pawned his watch, bicycle, Mackintosh, and started writing again.
He carefully studied different stories published in magazines, trying to learn the secret of their popularity. He referred to the works of famous writers. By reading many of them he learned about the craft of constructing a plot, about creating a particular style. Rudyard Kipling captured his attention. He reached the conclusion that to write well he needed to write concisely and he needed to tell about strong human emotions and vivid characters.
Methodically, Jack sent out new manuscripts to different magazines, but still received rejection letters. Mabel did not believe in his literary talent. She advised him to find a permanent job, but pale, emaciated Jack refused to give up. The fact that his beloved did not understand him and that she did not believe in him, was even more exasperating. He worked incessantly on his style and composition, trying to master his skill. He did not understand that the lack of skill was only one of the reasons for his failure among the editors. His creations were too much unlike the literature that flooded the literary market of that time. Editors demanded a happy ending from authors. True to the "genteel tradition" that dominated American art at that time, they wanted authors to portray reality through "rose-colored" glasses. They only accepted works that ignored the harsh realities of life. | 
