"A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest."
— C.S. Lewis
Lewis had a high opinion of what children could comprehend in a story, and the idea makes writing for children and young adults a weighty task. My favorite of his books is not widely known. Till We Have Faces is a retelling of the story of Cupid and Psyche. I guess you could say it's an early paranormal! But sharing the story from Psyche's sister's point of view makes it deep and compelling.
Here's a sampling of what Lewis has to say about writing:
This week, a friend sent me a link to 8 Writing Tips from C.S. Lewis. Reading through them, I wholeheartedly agree with each one. Check them out. You won't be sorry.
I also found a .Pdf file with quotes from Lewis on writing for the child-like.
And here's five tips on writing Lewis penned to a girl who asked his advice.
One of the tips Lewis gives is "write with the ear, not the eye". What do you think he means, and do you think it's true?
Wise tips. As to his comments on the cadence of writing, recently I read a book in a genre I had never paid much attention to. The book drew me in from page one not because of its subject matter but because of the rhythm of the author's writing. The author's sentences had a quick-paced, intriguing pull about them. What a wonderful skill to have as a writer, no?
ReplyDeleteThat's my take on writing with the ear, not the eye. :-)
Have a lovely week.
Thanks, Janette. Sounds like that was a wonderful book! After the Margie Lawson class I took in March, I'm trying to develop more of an ear for cadence. Sometimes a sentence just doesn't sound right, even though I can't put my finger on it.
ReplyDelete~Debbie
I love C.S. Lewis so I'm for sure going to check out his writing advice and this book. You're right, I haven't heard of it myself.
ReplyDeleteC.S. Lewis is a gem. Thanks for the links to these less known works.
ReplyDeleteI really hope you guys get to read "Faces". I didn't even know about it until two years ago, but it's considered one of his strongest books. It completely pulled me in.
ReplyDelete~Debbie
"Write with the ear, not the eye." Speaks to me of the nature of language. It is first and foremost an utterance and special attention ought to be made to the flow of words - the sounds, the rhythm and rhyme, the pacing etc. That is to say, read it out loud and see how it sounds. An oxymoron, I just realised - one cannot see sound so well.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, the musicality of language is one of the best features of the language. It's just as important as correct grammar, in my opinion.
You're absolutely right. Last week my crit partner read my chapter out loud. It was so much easier to see what worked and what didn't!
ReplyDelete~Debbie