On Stories

by C.S. Lewis

"It is astonishing how little attention critics have paid to Story considered in itself. Granted the story, the style in which it should be told, the order in which it should be disposed, and (above all) the delineation of the characters, have been abundantly discussed. But the Story itself, the series of imagined events, is nearly always passed over in silence, or else treated exclusively as affording opportunities for the delineation of character."

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Theology, Writing, Essays

22 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1947

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.

Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]

Reviews

[Brendan Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This essay did a nice job saying what it said, though I don’t know that it really said all that much. Lewis talks at length about the je ne sais qois of a high-quality Story, and how low-quality stories tend to sacrifice poetry and atmosphere for the sake of The Plot, which tends to spoil any destination toward which The Plot had been headed. He discusses this in the context of his own very specific framework of media consumption, which is great if you’ve read and watched all the stuff he has read and watched; for those of us reading this three quarters of a century later, individual results may vary.

I didn’t care for the not-so-subtle shade being thrown at cinema and science fiction. I don’t doubt that whatever he was watching and reading in 1947 didn’t live up to Homer for him. But all the things he said about what makes a good Story are equally applicable across genre and medium. Certainly different genres and media have their relative strengths and weaknesses, but I think it’s pretty arrogant for an artist to say with any finality what an art form can or cannot accomplish. Especially one whose own medium (the novel) is only a couple hundred years old. I think if old Clive watched Blade Runner he probably would have liked it and eaten his words about what cinema and science fiction are capable of.

I liked the diatribe on the characters of The Wind in the Willows, and I loved the reflection on how real life and Story share the same tension between the ephemeral moments we live for and the inexorable forward march of The Plot. As I said at the beginning, I don’t know that Lewis really said all that much in this essay, but maybe that was part of the point.

[Ashley Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book of essays to read in Ireland, especially while passing through C.S. Lewis's stomping grounds of Belfast and the Mourne Mountains. Not every essay was amazing (I'll admit that I skipped the ones where he was speaking about authors I hadn't read before), but I enjoyed reading Lewis's take on fairy tales and children's literature. It was also a treat to read more about his process while creating the Narnia stories.

[Skye Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It is usual to speak in a playfully apologetic tone about one’s adult enjoyment of what are called ‘children’s books’. I think the convention a silly one. No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty—except, of course, books of information. The only imaginative works we ought to grow out of are those which it would have been better not to have read at all. A mature palate will probably not much care for crême de menthe: but it ought still to enjoy bread and butter and honey.”🌻

[Dave Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is more essay than book, but it was quite interesting. One of the great storytellers of the last century tells us what makes a great story. It was a thoroughly engaging read.

[Kevin Deane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm sure this would be helpful if you were writing a science fiction or fantasy book. Also, just fun to hear Lewis's thoughts on the Hobbit?

[Laurel W · Rating 5 out of 5]

A super helpful handbook for everyone from the casual reader to the aspiring writer or critic.