[Writingworkshop] C. S. Lewis thoughts on writing

[Adam Holland]

nice.
--
You have to have the sword at home. You don’t want to have to buy a sword at
the last minute.


On Sun, Jul 12, 2009 at 10:33 PM, Neale Morison <neale at nealemorison.com>wrote:

> I came across this and it reminded me of Mark Twain's thoughts that I
> posted some time ago.
>
> http://nealemorison.org/writing/workshop/2008-February/000077.html
>
> Samuel was funnier but C. S. Lewis for all his tendency to force-feed
> unsuspecting children Christian doggerel (lionnerel I suppose really) was
> making some sense.
>
> This is from:
> http://www.nicky510.com/2009/07/11/from-narnias-master/
> BEGIN
> I recently came across some advice that C.S. Lewis gave to one of his pen
> pals and I thought it was very much worth repeating. Surrounded as we are in
> a world that seems to value obfuscation and double-talk, his advice on how
> to write effectively is a refreshing breath of common sense and clear
> sightedness. And here it is, straight from Aslan:
>
> 1: Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean
> and make sure your sentence couldn’t mean anything else.
>
> 2: Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t
> implement promises, but keep them.
>
> 3: Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean "More
> people died" don’t say "Mortality rose."
>
> 4: In writing: Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to
> feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a
> thing was "terrible," describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it
> was "delightful"; make us say "delightful" when we’ve read the description.
> You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are
> only like saying to your readers "Please will you do the job for me."
>
> 5: Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say "infiinitely" when
> you mean "very"; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk
> about something really infinite.
>
> I think my favorite is number 4, as it it truly cuts to the heart of
> evocative writing and I’ve not heard it stated in quite such a way before.
> Deploy your adjectives and similes, allusions and carefully crafted phrases,
> and let the feelings appear in your reader without further prompting. Just
> as there’s no need for a sign "dragons ahead" when the path is strewn with
> bits and pieces of ex-heroes and the trees exhibit a stylish charring around
> the edges, so too is there no need to tell the reader how they should feel.
> Rather, compel them feel that way from the words you choose.
>
> - And that’s today’s word from the bird
> END
>
> --
> Neale Morison
> neale at nealemorison.com
> http://www.nealemorison.com
> 35 Frazer St, Leichhardt NSW 2040
>
>
> +61 417 661 427
>
>
>
> --
> Neale Morison
> neale at nealemorison.com
> http://www.nealemorison.com
>
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