On Writing (and Writers): A Miscellany of Advice and Opinions
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- Create Date：2022-11-03 01:19:48
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：C.S. Lewis
- ISBN：0063276445
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Summary
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， including:
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。
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， including:
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。
Reviews
Louise Foerster
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ON WRITING （AND WRITERS） presents the words of C。S。 Lewis specifically oriented to writers， writing， and the world of writing。 Gathered and arranged byDavid C。 Downing， the book lays out the considerable depth， wit， kindness， and intelligence of an essential writer in English literature。 I delighted in the depth and breadth of Lewis' correspondence and other writing and laughed out loud at his clear， forthright repudiation of so many modern myths of how to write and be a writer。 If Downing's int ON WRITING （AND WRITERS） presents the words of C。S。 Lewis specifically oriented to writers， writing， and the world of writing。 Gathered and arranged byDavid C。 Downing， the book lays out the considerable depth， wit， kindness， and intelligence of an essential writer in English literature。 I delighted in the depth and breadth of Lewis' correspondence and other writing and laughed out loud at his clear， forthright repudiation of so many modern myths of how to write and be a writer。 If Downing's intent was to share a buffet， he has succeeded well， but left me wanting so much more， both in the words of Lewis and the perspective of an expert in Lewis' body of work。 The parsing of particular topics felt too fine and small; I think more would have been gained had the editor gathered the words into looser groups and let them loose rather than tethering them with citations that interrupted what would have been an entirely pleasurable read。 I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own， unbiased thoughts。 。。。more
Sue
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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 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。 。。。more
June Price
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Publication Nov。 1， 2022It 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 Publication Nov。 1， 2022It 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。 。。。more
Liz Busby
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I received a review copy of this book on Netgalley。Really nice to have so much of CS Lewis's advice about writing in one spot。 Many of the little tidbits from the letters were new to me， though I had recently read several of the longer pieces （"On Science Fiction，" "Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What's to Be Said，" and his commentary on Lord of the Rings）。 Lewis's advice is still relevant in the modern day; I always find some new concept when I read his work。 For example， his idea of "nar I received a review copy of this book on Netgalley。Really nice to have so much of CS Lewis's advice about writing in one spot。 Many of the little tidbits from the letters were new to me， though I had recently read several of the longer pieces （"On Science Fiction，" "Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What's to Be Said，" and his commentary on Lord of the Rings）。 Lewis's advice is still relevant in the modern day; I always find some new concept when I read his work。 For example， his idea of "narrative-lust" as a distraction in our first reading of a book was interesting in the context of the modern obsession with avoiding spoilers。 Though there was less new content than I had hoped， I still appreciated the collection and pulled lots of quotes from it into my quote archive。 。。。more
WhovianatHearts
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Thank you Net Galley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review。 For readers who enjoyed Stephen King's On Writing， I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in writing as a career。 C。S Lewis provides succient but concrete advice about writing。 The format of the book is easy to read。 The chapters are organized so that if you only want to learn about advice on a particular topic such as poetry， you can skip and read the aspects that are most relevant to you。 Thank you Net Galley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review。 For readers who enjoyed Stephen King's On Writing， I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in writing as a career。 C。S Lewis provides succient but concrete advice about writing。 The format of the book is easy to read。 The chapters are organized so that if you only want to learn about advice on a particular topic such as poetry， you can skip and read the aspects that are most relevant to you。 。。。more
Kelly Paradis
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This book was such a great find。 It's essentially a series of letters from C。 S。 Lewis to fans， both young and old。 It's short and sweet and to the point。 Amazing advice that has stood the test of time - I'd recommend this to anyone who loves C。 S。 Lewis and/or is interested in learning to write， no matter what genre！Thank you to HarperOne and NetGalley for the opportunity to access this free e-arc in exchange for an honest review。 This book was such a great find。 It's essentially a series of letters from C。 S。 Lewis to fans， both young and old。 It's short and sweet and to the point。 Amazing advice that has stood the test of time - I'd recommend this to anyone who loves C。 S。 Lewis and/or is interested in learning to write， no matter what genre！Thank you to HarperOne and NetGalley for the opportunity to access this free e-arc in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Lauren
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