C.S. Lewis' Advice on Writing

I've been working on a final paper, and part of that process has included browsing through some of Lewis' letters.  Here is one I found addressed to "a schoolgirl in America" on December 14th, 1959.

1. Turn off the Radio [or for us, Facebook, TV, Twitter, Pandora, Cell Phones.  Wow it certainly got more complicated, didn't it?]
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 does 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 you forget that it isn't the same in his.
6. When you give up a bit of work don't (unless it is hopelessly bad) 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 re-writing of things begun and abandoned years earlier.
7. Don't use a typewriter.  The nose will destroy your sense of rhythm, which still needs years of training. [I wonder what Lewis would say about computers.]
8. Be sure you know the meaning (or meanings) of very word you use

Just thought I would share!

Thinking about Paper Topics

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable."
— C.S. Lewis (The Four Loves) 

 

This quote, coming from The Four Loves, has been one of my favorites for years.  Having now read The Four Loves, I am grateful for the context that gives.  

I have a lot of thoughts when it comes to this topic of suffering and love.  This last summer I spent three months living with a Tibetan Buddhist family in Dharamsala, India.  While I was there I had a lot of opportunities to study Buddhism and Eastern religious philosophy.  Buddha taught that all life leads to suffering so long as you are attached to anything-whether that be your own individual identity, possessions, or personal relationships you feel attachment towards beyond just a general sense of the word "love."  This was the most difficult aspect of the religion for me to swallow.  To me, it feels like a way to cheat the importance of experiencing life.  The joy along with the often inevitable pain.

In this sense, I agree with Lewis.  I believe that to love and be hurt by that love is much better than to not love at all.  As I first started thinking about different paper ideas, the topic of Christian marriage tended to pop up, but this aspect of it seems to be a little more engaging.  Even though it is the end of the semester, and I am busy working on finals and my thesis, I want to make this paper a good representation of all that I learned throughout the semester. 

 

 

The Shadowlands by William Nicholson

Shadowlands by William Nicholson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Reading this play was a much different experience than the rest of the works we have read thus far. It is the only book on our list that is not actually written by C.S. Lewis, and in that sense it was kind of refreshing to have an outsider's opinion and interpretation of Lewis' life.

The first question that I asked myself while reading this drama was how accurate it really is. In our class discussion we addressed this concern. It is, overall, a fictional work, but there are some factual elements in it. For example: we learned that the poem Joy reads to Lewis, as well as Lewis' justification for marrying Joy (her first marriage did not count since her husband was already married a first time), were accurate. However, some of the details on time were not accurate. Joy was living in London before she came to Oxford, and their meeting was not exactly how it appeared in this drama. Also, C.S. Lewis was not a kind of withdrawn, somber sort of man. Rather, he was outspoken and extroverted. Him and his wife would often go to the pub and do karaoke. He loved her because she was able to dish it right back at him.


Overall, I was really grateful for the experience to read The Shadowlands. I appreciated the insights in class that helped me place it in proper perspective, but all in all I think Nicholson did an excellent job capturing C.S. Lewis.

After reading this play, I am really looking forward to reading the movie adaptation.  This is a remarkable and unique love story!


View all my reviews

A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis

A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A Grief Observed is one of my favorite works by C.S. Lewis. I feel like Lewis’ honesty is what makes it so meaningful. Death and coping with grief is no easy challenge in this life, yet, it is a part of it. Watching my best friend lose her younger brother last December, being with her at the hospital, I remember feeling so completely helpless to ease her pain. I could just be there—be there and let her know that I was there for her. I ended up buying her this book before I had even read it because I thought it would be spiritually uplifting. I didn’t realize until reading it for the first time this week that it is a lot more than that.

What I find most refreshing about this grief observed is that it does not pretend that religion is a magical pill that will alleviate all of our pain in this life. Lewis highlights this well when he says “talk to me about the truth of religion and I’ll listen gladly. Talk to me about the duty of religion and I’ll listen submissively. But don’t come talking to me about the consolation of religion or I shall suspect that you don’t understand” (25). The Atonement of Jesus Christ is a miraculous healer, but it does not work overnight. I like to think that time and Jesus heal all, but that does not necessarily mean we have perfect enough perspective to not be devastated by death. It should help, but it will not make it easy.

And yet, I think that is okay, especially within my own religious tradition as a Latter-day Saint. As Lewis says later in this book, perhaps this is a part of life and learning to become better, though doubts might creep in. But if we look to the Bible we see that Jesus wept for Lazarus even though He knew He could raise him from the dead. In the Pearl of Great Price we see God crying over the wickedness of his creations. Even watching President Hinckley and how he dealt with his own wife’s death was heart wrenching because his sense of deep loss was so apparent.

It is okay to weep. It is okay to mourn for what was and seems lost. It is okay to question at times. It is okay to doubt sometimes as well. The important part is that we work through those doubts and try to remain close to God throughout the process, even if it might feel like the last thing we want to do at the moment.


View all my reviews

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

This is my favorite book from The Chronicals of Narnia series.  And let's just begin by saying that the movie does not even come close to the book on this one.  Read the book!

Like most of C.S. Lewis' books, this one is packed with symbolism.  I had a hard time at first picking out some of those themes, but our class discussion really helped me out.

Here are Some Interesting Symbols:

Ramandu's table- like the sacrament.  It can never be exhausted.

Albatross- an image of Christ, comes from a space of light after Lucy prays for help.

The cup, swords, etc are like the Holy Grail.  They are numinous. 

The Place Where Dreams Come True- teaching us that we don't necessarily know what we want, suggesting that we pay attention to God's will

Goldwater- Greed, it brings down great people like Caspian and Edmund

Octesian's ring- Godly sorry and true remorse.

The 3 Sleeping Lords Using the Stone Knife- Could suggest that you cannot use holy things as a weapon against people.  The stone knife killed Aslan, the same way the cross killed Christ.  It could be suggesting that we should not fight over the cross, referring to conflict among Christian denominations.

The End- light, Heaven, goodness.  Drinking the water was like the good infection referenced in Mere Christianity.  Lewis argued that the point of Christianity was that it was supposed to change us.  It could also be about transfiguration.

A Whiff of Aslan's country- "it could break your heart," according to Lucy, but it was not sad. This is the joy that Lewis references in Surprised by Joy

The Dawn Treader- could be a reference to the course of a Christian life and the difficulties along the way

Predominant Themes in this Book:

Ability to Change- Eustace best represents this.  At the beginning he is a total brat and comes out as a hero and believer in Aslan by the end.  He shows the process of repentance and the necessary change of heart.

Vanity- Lucy, feeling like she was not being as pretty as Susan, gets into trouble and has to be reminded by Aslan that these things don’t matter.  Her Individual worth is not contingent upon looks.  Aslan reminds her of this and tells her to stop doubting it. 

The Nature of Death- by the end of the story, Reepicheep decides to travel into Aslan’s country.  It is death, but the way it is represented here it an adventure filled, exciting moment.   I’ve noticed Lewis portray death in this optimistic way in many of this other words as well—such as The Screwtape Letters.   

Danger of Greed- The pool that turns everything to gold best represents this.  Eustace is sucked into it, along with Caspian and other characters in the story, making it so Aslan is not able to access them.  It is corruptive, and the deathly nature of the pool suggests that it is dangerous. 

What it Means to Grow up- Lucy and Edmund were told that they could no longer go back to Narnia since they were getting too old.  Yet, Aslan reassured them that they would know him by name in their other world.  Knowing Aslan better in Narnia meant knowing him better in their normal lives.  Aslan is telling them that it is time to put these lessons and apply them to their adult experiences. 

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

I am so excited that we are moving into the Chronicles of Narnia.  I never had the experience reading them as a kid, and so in many ways I agree even more so with C.S. Lewis when he says that good children's books should be enjoyable for an adult audience.

We started our class discussion on The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.  Like Perelandra, this is a "supposal," not an allegory.  C.S. Lewis is not trying to say that this is the nature of how things are, but "suppose" God was acting in the form of a lion in an imaginary land, etc.  That is an important distinction to make.

This supposal was dedicated to Lucy Barfield, his goddaughter.  We talked briefly about the changes Lewis made through different publications and the orders, etc., but I'd like to take some time to talk about the symbols I find most pertinent to the story:

Peter- the head of the church after Christ leaves.  This one was pointed out in our class discussion.
Aslan- the Christ figure in the story
The White Witch- adversary, evil
Professor Kirke- I think that this name is not chosen by chance.  There was a Professor Kirk in Lewis' life who helped him become a Christian by teaching him to question things.  He is known in Lewis' autobiography, Surprised by Joy, as "The Great Knock."
Lucy- represents the threefold argument from Mere Christianity.  She is not a liar or crazy, so she must be telling the truth.
Statues- They come to life after the resurrection.  It could also be like the Tin Soldiers in Mere Christianity.
Witch's Castle- Like the realm of the dead/spirit prison.  Aslan leaps over the wall, showing that the gates of hell do not prevail against him
Turkish Delight- a spoiled good thing, as he discussed in The Screwtape Letters
 The Stone Table-like the Law of Moses
Father Christmas- Brings hope and cheer, talking about Aslan coming.  Could be compared to John the Baptist.
Gifts- spiritual gifts.  The cordial, for an Anglican, might be the sacraments
Edmund- could represent Adam, all of us, pride, insecurity, or perhaps Judas
Deep Magic vs Deeper Magic- Deep magic is the lower law while Deeper is the higher law, the kind that the White Witch does not understand.  Kind of like the new law after Christ came.

And then the obvious:  Death and resurrection through Aslan's sacrifice. 

Perelandra Symbolism

Reading Lewis' fiction for an older audience was a really interesting experience.  Perelandra is something of a sci-fi, the second book in a trilogy.  It is a re-telling of the fall of man, similar to Dante's journey.  While it was difficult to get into at first (mostly to orient myself with this new style), I really liked it.  Until I enrolled in this C.S. Lewis class I had no idea that he published adult fiction, yet, Perelandra has many of the same things that I've seen in his other works, like The Chronicals of Narnia.

There are countless symbols that Lewis uses in Perelandra, but I thought I would note a few of my own thoughts and some that we mentioned in our class discussion: