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On Writing (and Writers): A Miscellany of Advice and Opinions
“While writing about writing is often deadly, Lewis is as delightful as he is wise.” —The New York Times
A definitive collection of wisdom on every style of writing and a celebration of the transformative power of the written word from one of the most influential writers and thinkers of the modern age, C. S. Lewis, the beloved author of the Chronicles of Narnia series, Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and other revered classics.
Featuring over one hundred excerpts—some short and some essay length—drawn from his wide body of letters, books, and essays, On Writing (and Writers) brings together C. S. Lewis’s reflections on the power, importance, and joy of a life dedicated to writing.
Writers and devoted readers will be enriched and inspired by Lewis’s commentary on a range of genres,
On Good WritingOn Writing FictionOn Writing PoetryOn Writing for ChildrenOn Writing Science FictionOn Christian WritingOn Writing PersuasivelyOn Other WritersWise and practical, On Writing (and Writers) reveals Lewis’s thoughts on both mechanics and style, including choosing adjectives, the art of expression, how to connect with readers, and the core principles of clear, impactful writing.
A window into the mind of one of the greatest public intellectuals of the twentieth century—a gifted writer whose influence and insights remain relevant six decades after his death—this engaging collection reveals not only why Lewis loved the written word, but what it means to “gladly teach” the art of writing, so that wise readers can “gladly learn.”
A definitive collection of wisdom on every style of writing and a celebration of the transformative power of the written word from one of the most influential writers and thinkers of the modern age, C. S. Lewis, the beloved author of the Chronicles of Narnia series, Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and other revered classics.
Featuring over one hundred excerpts—some short and some essay length—drawn from his wide body of letters, books, and essays, On Writing (and Writers) brings together C. S. Lewis’s reflections on the power, importance, and joy of a life dedicated to writing.
Writers and devoted readers will be enriched and inspired by Lewis’s commentary on a range of genres,
On Good WritingOn Writing FictionOn Writing PoetryOn Writing for ChildrenOn Writing Science FictionOn Christian WritingOn Writing PersuasivelyOn Other WritersWise and practical, On Writing (and Writers) reveals Lewis’s thoughts on both mechanics and style, including choosing adjectives, the art of expression, how to connect with readers, and the core principles of clear, impactful writing.
A window into the mind of one of the greatest public intellectuals of the twentieth century—a gifted writer whose influence and insights remain relevant six decades after his death—this engaging collection reveals not only why Lewis loved the written word, but what it means to “gladly teach” the art of writing, so that wise readers can “gladly learn.”
208 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 1, 2022
185 people are currently reading
1632 people want to read
About the author
C.S. Lewis
1,030 books47.8k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]
Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews
June 15, 2024
A wonderful compilation of Lewis's reflections, comments, correspondence, and essays on writing. I would recommend this to any aspiring writer or current author.
January 14, 2023
This is a brilliant book compiled from the writings of C. S. Lewis by David C. Downing. Reading it gave me a greater love for myth, writing, literature, art, and Christ. I am very thankful for the Irish Ulsterman's writings!
December 10, 2024
I particularly appreciated the sections on writing for children and on writing science fiction. I also loved his review of Hawthorne’s House of the Seven Gables and Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring.
December 21, 2024
The shocking truth is that, while insincerity may be fatal to good writing, sincerity, of itself, never taught anyone to write well. It is a moral virtue, not a literary talent.Every now and then readers (after all, if writers are anything, they are readers) need a little time to break away from the usual. But nothing shallow or trite, please. This short collection by one of the more interesting, wide-ranging of English writers of the past century and a half, C.S. Lewis, fits the bill. Most of the pieces, except for extended readings about writing for children on J.R.R. Tolkiens first volume of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. There are bits of wisdom, humor, and vanity that all lead to thoughts about writing. Highly recommended as a diversion to tune up the mind and think a bit differently about writing.
C.S. Lewis
If there was one observation about writing that stuck with me, it was his warning against the casual use of descriptive adjectives. They are often a cop-out for lazy writers and make the reader do the work for them. It never works out for either. But don’t think about this or discard them in the first draft. Use them as challenges. Rather than write something like “astoundingly,” use it as a challenge to write why it is so without using the word. “Its very limitations of vocabulary became an attraction, as the hardness of stone pleases a sculptor or the difficulty of the sonnet delights the sonneteer.” Often the difficulty of writing is its own joy.
And there is fun stuff too. It’s easy to relate to his visceral disgust with trade paperbacks; when I see them in airports and people breaking the backs and folding the corners it drives me crazy. People like these are not readers, each is “unliterary” and “may be defined as [one] who reads books only once.” When he observes, “no reader worth his salt trots along to the obedience of a timetable”, I have to admit to being occasionally guilty, so this is a good reminder for readers too. But as we write, Lewis realizes it’s all a sort of vanity, one of the reasons we write these reviews:
After all, what is the object of writing to friends except that of talking oneself into a state of self-importance and the belief that one’s own perversities are a matter of universal sympathy.
October 7, 2022
Publication Nov. 1, 2022
It seems presumptuous of me to even be reviewing a book of C.S. Lewis' writings. It's also presumptuous of me to use the word presumptuous as one of the things he repeatedly cautions writers against is using a big word when a smaller, more common one will do. So, let's rephrase this as "It seems wrong for me to review work by C.S. Lewis. But, well, here goes....
Lewis was a writer, yes, but also a teacher. Reading his responses to letters obviously written by young writers is eye-opening. It isn't just the advice he gives but the patient, positive vibes of his responses show the teacher side. Divided into sections by focus, it's a book easily read in spurts, flipping back-and-forth or, gasp, even skipping a section or two. I read them all, even the poetry section even though my poetic skills seems to largely begin and end with trite phrasing such as "I'm not a poet/And I know it". Hopefully you're more poetic but there is something within for every budding writer no matter what your genre. Heck, you don't even have to want to write books. It's applicable for everything from your efforts at the Great American Novel to, well, reviews and common written exchanges today.
I wonder what Lewis, who died in 1983, would think of modern social media, too. One of the points he makes is to write for the ear as well as the eye, yes, but he also strongly emphasizes, as I've already noted, the need to be direct and avoid using a big word when a little one, so to speak, will do just as well. For instance, don't say "the mortality rate escalated" when "many people died" says the same thing in a clearer, more direct way. No, I don't think we'd find C.S. Lewis writing news headlines for social media. Bottom line, choose your words and avoid verbicide, ie the murder of words. I love that word. I also loved this book and expect to return to it again and again. Thanks to #NetGalley and #HarperOne for reminding me that I need to read the Narnia Chronicles again...soon.
It seems presumptuous of me to even be reviewing a book of C.S. Lewis' writings. It's also presumptuous of me to use the word presumptuous as one of the things he repeatedly cautions writers against is using a big word when a smaller, more common one will do. So, let's rephrase this as "It seems wrong for me to review work by C.S. Lewis. But, well, here goes....
Lewis was a writer, yes, but also a teacher. Reading his responses to letters obviously written by young writers is eye-opening. It isn't just the advice he gives but the patient, positive vibes of his responses show the teacher side. Divided into sections by focus, it's a book easily read in spurts, flipping back-and-forth or, gasp, even skipping a section or two. I read them all, even the poetry section even though my poetic skills seems to largely begin and end with trite phrasing such as "I'm not a poet/And I know it". Hopefully you're more poetic but there is something within for every budding writer no matter what your genre. Heck, you don't even have to want to write books. It's applicable for everything from your efforts at the Great American Novel to, well, reviews and common written exchanges today.
I wonder what Lewis, who died in 1983, would think of modern social media, too. One of the points he makes is to write for the ear as well as the eye, yes, but he also strongly emphasizes, as I've already noted, the need to be direct and avoid using a big word when a little one, so to speak, will do just as well. For instance, don't say "the mortality rate escalated" when "many people died" says the same thing in a clearer, more direct way. No, I don't think we'd find C.S. Lewis writing news headlines for social media. Bottom line, choose your words and avoid verbicide, ie the murder of words. I love that word. I also loved this book and expect to return to it again and again. Thanks to #NetGalley and #HarperOne for reminding me that I need to read the Narnia Chronicles again...soon.
July 10, 2023
Every now and then, I think maybe C. S. Lewis isn’t my favorite author, but then I pick up his writing and remember why he holds that place in my life. This was such a neat and concise collection of Lewis quotes and essays. I learned about his writing style (he gathers various images in his head and then attempts to connect them via story), his thoughts about The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (utterly fascinating, he predicted both would become classics), and his analysis of authors and their works ("I can't bear Walt Whitman."). I plan to read all of Lewis at some point in the future, but in the meantime, this is the perfect way to imbibe his thoughts on writing and writers.
September 16, 2023
i love cs lewis' writing style so it was cool reading about his advice about writing <3
June 15, 2024
I enjoyed reading this collection of excerpts from Lewis’ works and letters on writing. The advice he offers made me think about the importance of words and choosing them carefully. From this collection I have learned
- adjectives are lazy - show, don’t tell and don’t ask your reader to do your work for you. Make them feel the adjective don’t use the adjective.
- children’s literature is good insofar as it’s good for all ages
- don’t criticize a book simply because you don’t like the genre- evaluate it on its own terms
- read novels twice; the first time you are distracted by wanting to know what happens next and don’t fully appreciate the literary elements
- use clear language; it makes sense in your head but your reader is not in your head
- save exceptional or superlative words for situations that truly merit them
It was also delightful to hear Lewis’ personal literary preferences from some of his letters. For instance, The Three Musketeers is all plot and action and no substance. Also, Jane Austen’s works have two faults, there are too few of them, and they are too short.
- adjectives are lazy - show, don’t tell and don’t ask your reader to do your work for you. Make them feel the adjective don’t use the adjective.
- children’s literature is good insofar as it’s good for all ages
- don’t criticize a book simply because you don’t like the genre- evaluate it on its own terms
- read novels twice; the first time you are distracted by wanting to know what happens next and don’t fully appreciate the literary elements
- use clear language; it makes sense in your head but your reader is not in your head
- save exceptional or superlative words for situations that truly merit them
It was also delightful to hear Lewis’ personal literary preferences from some of his letters. For instance, The Three Musketeers is all plot and action and no substance. Also, Jane Austen’s works have two faults, there are too few of them, and they are too short.
April 12, 2024
On Writing is a compilation of Lewis' quotes on writing and the writing of others. Within its pages are nuggets of wisdom, but I felt it was lacking in organization. His reviews on other writers was a joy to read. Here are a couple nuggets.
“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 my job for me.””
On Jane Austen: Her books have only two faults and both are damnable. They are too few and too short.
“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 my job for me.””
On Jane Austen: Her books have only two faults and both are damnable. They are too few and too short.
December 28, 2025
What a disappointment. I already have a (possibly biased) dislike of Lewis, and this cemented my view on him. This read very shallow and reductive. I love writing, and I love reading about writing, but this was such a waste of paper. I will not be heeding the advice of a man who I feel strongly writes Bible fanfiction.
May 25, 2025
Overall I really liked it. Many letters are included which give writing advice and then there's a section where you can read quotes of Lewis' about various authors and books.
It is fascinating seeing other sides of Lewis that I've never seen before!
Here is one gem:
"Whenever you are fed up with life, start writing: ink is the great cure for all human ills, as I have found out long ago." From a letter to Arthur Greeves, May 30, 1916.
I don't think I had ever read that Lewis quote before and it was so comforting to read. Lots of lovely and humorous surprises in this book.
One other fun surprise, to find out that he loved Jane Austen's works!
Overall, the excerpts-and-quotes format makes this book easy and digestable, and I highly recommend it especially if you have not yet read the essay collection On Stories or Other Worlds, or if you haven't read Lewis' letters and do not want to read through all of them to find the writing advice.
One frustration with these Lewis collections is the large amount of overlap with other collections of his essays. On Stories and Other Worlds for instance both contain some of the same essays on stories. I wish the essays on writing were reprinted in complete form without being chopped up and moved around in the form of excerpts and quotes, but the short form is also helpful if you have a short attention span. I find it did help me to zoom in on certain things and think about them more. I think this is the ultimate collection thus far of Lewis' work on the topic of writing, though it seems to leave out a few parts of essays included in On Stories and Other Worlds.
A mistake of the editor:
One added heading by the editor mistook Emily Bronte as the author of Jane Eyre--Charlotte is the sister who wrote it, not Emily. *facepalm* I hope that error is fixed in reprints.
Because this book is put together by someone other than Lewis from a conglomeration of things written by Lewis, you may feel like it goes all over the place a little bit at times, including things he may have said once when he was younger but would not publish of his own will.
Every writer of fantasy who is a Christian should read Lewis' essays and letters on writing--hence this book. Or "On Stories" if you would like the un-chopped version. But then also read this anyway because it has letters on writing that are not included in the On Stories collection.
It is fascinating seeing other sides of Lewis that I've never seen before!
Here is one gem:
"Whenever you are fed up with life, start writing: ink is the great cure for all human ills, as I have found out long ago." From a letter to Arthur Greeves, May 30, 1916.
I don't think I had ever read that Lewis quote before and it was so comforting to read. Lots of lovely and humorous surprises in this book.
One other fun surprise, to find out that he loved Jane Austen's works!
Overall, the excerpts-and-quotes format makes this book easy and digestable, and I highly recommend it especially if you have not yet read the essay collection On Stories or Other Worlds, or if you haven't read Lewis' letters and do not want to read through all of them to find the writing advice.
One frustration with these Lewis collections is the large amount of overlap with other collections of his essays. On Stories and Other Worlds for instance both contain some of the same essays on stories. I wish the essays on writing were reprinted in complete form without being chopped up and moved around in the form of excerpts and quotes, but the short form is also helpful if you have a short attention span. I find it did help me to zoom in on certain things and think about them more. I think this is the ultimate collection thus far of Lewis' work on the topic of writing, though it seems to leave out a few parts of essays included in On Stories and Other Worlds.
A mistake of the editor:
One added heading by the editor mistook Emily Bronte as the author of Jane Eyre--Charlotte is the sister who wrote it, not Emily. *facepalm* I hope that error is fixed in reprints.
Because this book is put together by someone other than Lewis from a conglomeration of things written by Lewis, you may feel like it goes all over the place a little bit at times, including things he may have said once when he was younger but would not publish of his own will.
Every writer of fantasy who is a Christian should read Lewis' essays and letters on writing--hence this book. Or "On Stories" if you would like the un-chopped version. But then also read this anyway because it has letters on writing that are not included in the On Stories collection.
August 11, 2025
I've spent the last few months combing through this little book. Absolutely charming.
“The first business of a story is to be a good story.”
“I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children's story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad story. The good ones last. A waltz which you can like only when you are waltzing is a bad waltz.”
His commentary on The Three Musketeers had me rolling! “I don't think there is a single passage to show that Dumas had ever seen a cloud, a road, or a tree.”
“My appetite is hearty and when I sit down to read I like a square meal.”
I got a little bogged down in the back half of the book adding so many things to my want-to-read list based on his comments. 🤣
I plan to keep this on the school shelf to reference often!
“The first business of a story is to be a good story.”
“I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children's story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad story. The good ones last. A waltz which you can like only when you are waltzing is a bad waltz.”
His commentary on The Three Musketeers had me rolling! “I don't think there is a single passage to show that Dumas had ever seen a cloud, a road, or a tree.”
“My appetite is hearty and when I sit down to read I like a square meal.”
I got a little bogged down in the back half of the book adding so many things to my want-to-read list based on his comments. 🤣
I plan to keep this on the school shelf to reference often!
March 22, 2025
Inspiring.
March 21, 2023
On Three Ways of Writing for Children was a particularly strong essay from this collection, but having only the bits and thoughts on the craft of writing and then on authors and their works was a really nice sampling of some of Lewis' wisdom. I feel like this is one I could return to often and pull what I need from it.
October 12, 2022
As the title states, this is a collection of writing advice taken from letters and other sources from one of the greatest authors of our time, C.S. Lewis. He is probably most well-known for The Chronicles of Narnia. If you have not read them, stop what you are doing right now and go find a copy.
If you are an author, put this on the top of your to-be-read list. It doesn't matter what kind of writing you do. Read this. Note - Lewis taught at Oxford and Cambridge, and some of this book sounds like it. Don't let it discourage you if it's a bit heady. Just read it again.
The highlight is his reviews of The Hobbit ("The Hobbit may well prove a classic.") and The Lord of the Rings ("Nothing quite like it was ever done before."). Lewis and Tolkien were good friends, and Lewis got to read them before they were published. Can you imagine?
Completely family friendly.
Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book. Opinions are mine.
If you are an author, put this on the top of your to-be-read list. It doesn't matter what kind of writing you do. Read this. Note - Lewis taught at Oxford and Cambridge, and some of this book sounds like it. Don't let it discourage you if it's a bit heady. Just read it again.
The highlight is his reviews of The Hobbit ("The Hobbit may well prove a classic.") and The Lord of the Rings ("Nothing quite like it was ever done before."). Lewis and Tolkien were good friends, and Lewis got to read them before they were published. Can you imagine?
Completely family friendly.
Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book. Opinions are mine.
dnf-2023
April 27, 2023This was not really what I was expecting and that may be my fault.
Unlike other writing advice books, this was short snippets of things Lewis had written over his lifetime and while I appreciate that, it wasn't a valuable learning experience for me. Everything was so short and snappy that I didn't fully get enveloped in any of the concepts.
I can see how this could be useful for some people, but it didn't work for me.
Unlike other writing advice books, this was short snippets of things Lewis had written over his lifetime and while I appreciate that, it wasn't a valuable learning experience for me. Everything was so short and snappy that I didn't fully get enveloped in any of the concepts.
I can see how this could be useful for some people, but it didn't work for me.
March 1, 2024
This has all the advice a writer could want or need, and much more. As per usual, Lewis paints us picture after picture of advice and ideas that are truly helpful and thoughtful in their nature. It’s as if he set down a canvas only to say, “just once more, actually, I’ve thought of something else,” and picks up the paintbrush again.
There’s plenty of humor here, plenty of priceless passages that we would do well to return to time and time again, and it’s just a lovely little collection. My thanks to David C. Downing for compiling it.
There’s plenty of humor here, plenty of priceless passages that we would do well to return to time and time again, and it’s just a lovely little collection. My thanks to David C. Downing for compiling it.
December 28, 2023
Fabulous.
Adored this compilation of Lewis’s thoughts on writing—he describes things so aptly, with such clever turns of phrase and incisive insight. There’s honestly probably more highlighted in the book than there isn’t, every page is a gem.
Would recommend to any writer!
Abounding gratefulness to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc—I’m going to order my copy now!
Adored this compilation of Lewis’s thoughts on writing—he describes things so aptly, with such clever turns of phrase and incisive insight. There’s honestly probably more highlighted in the book than there isn’t, every page is a gem.
Would recommend to any writer!
Abounding gratefulness to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc—I’m going to order my copy now!
September 21, 2023
Bravo! Rather than being a lazy collection of essays with a new title cover, this anthology is the result of carefully collecting all relevant exerts from 4000 pages of letters, popular essays and academic writings. I was particularly struck by Lewis' view of creation and originality. Authors do not create, but "re-arrange elements He has provided".
June 5, 2024
4.5. Only because due to the nature of these books the structure is lacking and ideas are repeated but oh man C.S. Lewis is the person to write on this topic. Honestly, everything he said is gold.
May 22, 2025
If you have read “the Reading Life,” another edited work of Lewis’s excerpts on books and reading, then the format of this book will be familiar. I found the book to be especially helpful—especially the brief section on Christian writing. I also found the section on writing children’s stories to be a helpful look at Lewis’s mindset in writing stories—specifically the Chronicles of Narnia. There are some selections here that I found less interesting, like the section on writing science fiction. The final, extensive section is an alphabetical ordering on Lewis’s thoughts on other authors. Some of the passages about familiar authors stood out to me, while some passages about unfamiliar authors didn’t. There are also a few selections that overlap with selections from “The Reading Life,” so that felt a bit redundant. Overall, here are my big takeaways from the book:
- sometimes, one’s faith should be latent in a story rather than blatant. The first business of a story is to be a good story.
- a disputation should not become a quarrel. In the time you take calling an author a hypocrite or foolish, you could have spent that time refuting his argument.
- do not criticize books that you do not have a taste for.
- MOST IMPORTANT: the more abstract the subject you are writing about, the less abstract your writing and language should be.
- don’t tell readers how you want them to feel by overuse of adjectives. Make the reader feel the way you intend.
- good writing is just as much for the ear as it is for the eye.
- sometimes, one’s faith should be latent in a story rather than blatant. The first business of a story is to be a good story.
- a disputation should not become a quarrel. In the time you take calling an author a hypocrite or foolish, you could have spent that time refuting his argument.
- do not criticize books that you do not have a taste for.
- MOST IMPORTANT: the more abstract the subject you are writing about, the less abstract your writing and language should be.
- don’t tell readers how you want them to feel by overuse of adjectives. Make the reader feel the way you intend.
- good writing is just as much for the ear as it is for the eye.
December 28, 2022
While I enjoyed the first half of this book more than the last (and that's more likely because I don't write children's or science fiction), there a nuggets of wisdom throughout! There is wisdom from Lewis on the practical side of the craft as well as insight, inspiration, and encouragement for the less practical question of why we must write. And each thought expressed in typical Lewis directness dressed in just the word choices.
"...style is the art of expressing a given thought in the most beautiful words and rhythms of words."
"I sometimes think that writing is like driving sheep down the road. If there is a gate left open to the left or the right, the readers will most certainly go into it."
"Let me taste for myself, and you'll have no need to tell me how I should react to the flavor."
And my favorite...
"Ink is a deadly drug. One wants to write. I cannot shake off the addiction."
"...style is the art of expressing a given thought in the most beautiful words and rhythms of words."
"I sometimes think that writing is like driving sheep down the road. If there is a gate left open to the left or the right, the readers will most certainly go into it."
"Let me taste for myself, and you'll have no need to tell me how I should react to the flavor."
And my favorite...
"Ink is a deadly drug. One wants to write. I cannot shake off the addiction."
January 19, 2023
A terrific little collection of C.S.Lewis’ thoughts and musings on writing, writers, and reading.
Lewis is a delight to read no matter the subject, but I’ve recently become especially appreciative of his nonfiction and literary criticism, which is fantastically sharp, funny, and spot on. This one is particularly good if you’re an appreciator or practitioner of the craft of writing.
I particularly enjoyed Lewis’ thoughts on writing for children, as well as the collection of missives about well-known writers and their works. The piece on T.S. Eliot was absolutely hilarious, and I loved reading Lewis’ intriguing thoughts on why Sayers’ translation of Dante was such a success.
An absolute gem of a book.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
Lewis is a delight to read no matter the subject, but I’ve recently become especially appreciative of his nonfiction and literary criticism, which is fantastically sharp, funny, and spot on. This one is particularly good if you’re an appreciator or practitioner of the craft of writing.
I particularly enjoyed Lewis’ thoughts on writing for children, as well as the collection of missives about well-known writers and their works. The piece on T.S. Eliot was absolutely hilarious, and I loved reading Lewis’ intriguing thoughts on why Sayers’ translation of Dante was such a success.
An absolute gem of a book.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
March 1, 2024
I listened to this audiobook, which I don’t recommend. It doesn’t lend well to audio. Many of the selections were really short, and after each selection came a long citation, tediously read aloud as dramatically as the piece itself. Had I read a hard copy, I could have glanced over the citations without breaking the flow to the next piece. Oh well.
I particularly liked the small bits and bobs of Lewis’s thoughts on other writers. I wonder if he would be a little embarrassed knowing his personal opinions of these writers (many his contemporaries) were made public. Most were not glowing reviews. I enjoyed it nonetheless. Surprisingly, he loved my favorite author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, despite his one shortcoming—he was an American.
I particularly liked the small bits and bobs of Lewis’s thoughts on other writers. I wonder if he would be a little embarrassed knowing his personal opinions of these writers (many his contemporaries) were made public. Most were not glowing reviews. I enjoyed it nonetheless. Surprisingly, he loved my favorite author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, despite his one shortcoming—he was an American.
July 31, 2024
An insightful little book, overflowing with wit.
This collection highlights Lewis's unique view of prose, one centered around rhythm. It offers a smattering of advice, but nothing concrete, disqualifying it as a style guide.
On a pessimistic note, Lewis's guidance betrays the sad truth that giftedness is a precondition for first-rate prose. He implores young writers to "write (and read) with the ear, not the eye," which is no doubt helpful, but which fails to endow us with Lewis's otherworldly hearing, so to speak. I can't help but note the irony in great stylists's inability to explain the nature of good writing. But in a way, its mystery adds to its allure.
Lewis's viewpoints often baffle me, but his prose sure is bewitching.
This collection highlights Lewis's unique view of prose, one centered around rhythm. It offers a smattering of advice, but nothing concrete, disqualifying it as a style guide.
On a pessimistic note, Lewis's guidance betrays the sad truth that giftedness is a precondition for first-rate prose. He implores young writers to "write (and read) with the ear, not the eye," which is no doubt helpful, but which fails to endow us with Lewis's otherworldly hearing, so to speak. I can't help but note the irony in great stylists's inability to explain the nature of good writing. But in a way, its mystery adds to its allure.
Lewis's viewpoints often baffle me, but his prose sure is bewitching.
January 6, 2025
This is a collection of everything CS Lewis ever said on writing and various different authors. Some essay length, some just a sentence. There were some really wonderful passages and chapters that had me wanting to triple underline and frame on my wall. Other things felt random.
The compilation frequently felt awkward, hence my rating. My problem is more with the concept and execution of the volume than what was said.
The compilation frequently felt awkward, hence my rating. My problem is more with the concept and execution of the volume than what was said.
March 19, 2025
Informative and interesting! The beginning of the book offers practical and wise advice on writing, which was the part I liked the most. The end features criticisms and praises of various authors of Lewis’ time and before, and that was entertaining as well. I liked finding out which authors he enjoyed and I hope to add some of their books to my TBR list!
September 1, 2025
C.S. Lewis was a GENIUS. As a Christian writer, In am very pleased with how he depicts writing for the King. And the way he writes is so understandable, unlike other authors in that time period which are a little bit harder to chew. (No offense to Tolkien, and I really should be challenging myself more reading-wise)
Read this book, and you’ll see what I mean.
Read this book, and you’ll see what I mean.
January 28, 2023
A fascinating collection of articles and comments C.S. Lewis made over the years about writing and about writers. It gave me a whole new appreciation of Lewis and often surprised me by the depth of his remarks. His reviews of The Hobbit and of the Lord of the Rings long before these books became a phenomenon were a joy to read. The audiobook version is wonderfully read by John Lee.
July 23, 2024
This was a quick but filling delight. I especially benefitted from reading Lewis’ admonition to refrain from criticizing art of a type that I do not enjoy.
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