Thursday, April 12, 2012

Practical tips for writers (3) – C.S. Lewis


C. S. Lewis (pictured), author of The Chronicles of Narnia, managed to write an individual reply to almost every fan letter he received. In a remarkable letter to a young American fan he included a wealth of writing advice. Two excerpts:

“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.”

“Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean ‘More people died’ don't say ‘Mortality rose.’ ”

The Takeaway: Read and heed the rest of the advice from C. S. Lewis.

See disclaimer.

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