A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

C.S. Lewis was born November 29, 1898, and to celebrate his birthday we’re offering the Arrow based on his book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe:

Half price through midnight Monday ($3.95) THIS OFFER HAS EXPIRED

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the first book (according to the original publication order) in Lewis’ acclaimed fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. In the essay, ‘It All Began with a Picture,’ Lewis shared how the story originated:

The Lion all began with a picture of a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood. This picture had been in my mind since I was about sixteen. Then one day, when I was about forty, I said to myself: ‘Let’s try to make a story about it.’

That illustrates one of C.S. Lewis’ rules of writing. A student once asked Lewis for advice, and he encouraged young writers to “save odds and ends” for possible future use. Here are the rules:

8 Writing Tips by C.S. Lewis

1. Turn off the radio. [And if written today he might have added “television”]
2. Read good books and avoid most magazines.
3. Write with the ear, not the eye. Make every sentence sound good.
4. Write only about things that interest you. If you have no interests, you won’t ever be a writer.
5. Be clear. Remember that readers can’t know your mind. Don’t forget to tell them exactly what they need to know to understand you.
6. Save odds and ends of writing attempts, because you may be able to use them later.
7. You need a well-trained sense of word-rhythm, and the noise of a typewriter will interfere.
8. Know the meaning of every word you use.

~from C. S. Lewis’ Letters to Children, edited by Lyle Dorsett and Marjorie Lamp Mead

So, celebrate C.S. Lewis’ birthday plus take advantage of this special Arrow offer!

Also, if you’d like to buy a copy of the novel, it’s available through Amazon: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Full-Color Collector’s Edition (affiliate link).

The Arrow is a monthly digital product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel. It’s geared toward children ages 8-11 and is an indispensable tool for parents who want to teach language arts in a natural, literature-bathed context.

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