Here is a short list of writing tips from one of the great masters of the craft, CS Lewis. On June 26, 1956, C.S. Lewis replied to letter from an American girl named Joan with advice on writing.
I’ve always been very suspicious of long essays on writing advice from authors, and I’ve seen some big name authors do just that. If you can’t summarize it on one page, then you either don’t know what you’re talking about, or you’re trying to say too much. So I’ve come to really appreciate this brief list from Lewis. It succinctly and brilliantly summarizes all the really important rules you need to know when it comes to writing.
Here’s what he advises:
- 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.
- Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.
- Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean “More people died” don’t say “Mortality rose.”
- In writing, don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the things you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us the thing is “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.” (My note: In other words, show – don’t tell, which is the cardinal rule of good writing.)
- 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.
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