Some great writting tips from one that would know C.S. Lewis.

  1. 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.

  2. Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.

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

  4. In writing. Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, 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.”

  5. Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.

I love the push to just make it simple. Don’t try to make things fancy just write what you intend clearly.

2 responses to “Great Writing Tips from a Great Author”

  1. Eric Mann Avatar

    Point #4 is often the most important lesson all writers need to learn. Unfortunately, it’s also the hardest to practice when actually writing.

    1. curtismchale Avatar
      curtismchale

      Have to say that 4 didn’t resonate with me till you mentioned it. That is a hard one, something to work on as I tack away on the fiction projects I have going.