In 1956 an American girl named Joan wrote to C.S. Lewis asking for advice on writing. This is his response.
It is very hard to give any general advice about writing. Here’s my attempt.
(1.) Turn off the Radio.
(2.) Read all the good books you can, and avoid nearly all magazines.
(3) Always write (and read) with the ear, not the eye. You should hear every sentence you write as if it was being read aloud or spoken. If it d0es not sound nice, try again.
(4) Write about what really interests you, whether it is real things or imaginary things, and nothing else. (Notice this means that if you are interested only in writing you will never be a writer, because you will have nothing to write about … )
(5) Take great pains to be clear. Remember that though you start by knowing what you mean, the reader doesn’t, and a single ill-chosen word may lead him to a total misunderstanding. In a story it is terribly easy just to forget that you have not told the reader something that he wants to know — the whole picture is so clear in your own mind that y0u forget that it isn’t the same in his.
(6) When you give up a bit of work don’t throw it away. Put it in a drawer. It may come in useful later. Much of my best work, or what I think my best, is the rewriting of things begun and abandoned years earlier.
(7) Don’t use a typewriter. The noise will destroy your sense of rhythm, which still needs years of training.
(8) Be sure you know the meaning (or meanings) of every word you use.
Letters to Children
C.S. Lewis
- Writing Advice from C.S. Lewis - January 27, 2025
- Writing for Critics - July 29, 2024
- Your Media Kit - April 10, 2023
