Would another C.S. Lewis please step forward?

Goldenrod22

New member
Here's what I wish for. Why can't more writers try their hand at innocent, fairy-tale like stories such as LWW? Sure, C.S. Lewis is a master writer and storyteller, but I think that what he tried to do has not been tried again for a long time. Remember how popular 'Harry Potter' was when it first came out? I think the biggest reason why is because of the imagination that went into it, not the storyline so much. If other people tryed to write a (better) kids story again like that, what kind of impact would it make??! C'mon, writers. The next generation of kids needs new, classic good-hearted 'fairy tales' to grow up with.
 
Hey man, i'm working on my own right now actually, i really just need more time to write it. I have the plot line figured out, and some of the fun stuff is done, but yeah, more creative stuff will have to come, but mine is placed in the real world though.

tg
 
Writing a story

One important thing to remember when writing a story is that we do not want to copy something that is already out there.

I've written my share of stories (a few are available on my website), and the lesson I have learned over the years is that imitation is nice, but originality is more desired.

I see that there have been references linking LOTR and CON. Tolkien and Lewis were friends at some levels and corresponded with each other. What they shared was a love of mythological lore.

In any future allegory (BTW, Tolkien claimed many times that his trilogy was not an allegory of any kind), the world that is created for the enjoyment (and possibly education) of the reader should be fresh and exciting. Look at how many different ways the Bible relates it stories: parable, poem, short story, allegory, history.

So, if an aspiring writer wishes to bring the concepts of Christian love and redemption alive under a new guise--even in the "now" world, there are so many fresh ways to tell the old, old story. And not just a rehash of something formalaic that worked before, a problem that still plagues the entertainment media.
 
yes yes, i do not believe my story will be much of a rehash of their stuff, mine takes place in the world we live in today, but with historical facts mixed with fiction. So to not give away too much, there you have it.

tg
 
Someone needs to write the story of what happened in Charn before Digory awakened Jadis. The story of Charn and the early life of Jadis would certainly be a story worth reading! The deplorable word and such... ooooh I can picture it now. What a wonderful story that would be!

I've got this theory about Jadis' family being the ruling class of spiritual beings on Charn that lived the corporeal bodies of the people of Charn. It's actually quite an interesting theory that preserves events in the Chronicles. I just don't have enough time to think it through and write about it. Oh, the life of a working college student. Alas.
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Dodge Warlock history
 
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That could be really interesting because you have the scope to write almost anything you wish. Very little is mentioned about Charn so you can make up your own ideas.
 
You are so right!

GoldenRod22, you are so right! I always wish there were more innocent fairytales, but not fairytales exactly... more like Narnia, which isn't exactly a fairytale.
I've been trying to work on it myself, but I always come up with a super idea and then realize it's been used before! :mad:
Lol, so you can see the problem... besides, publishers don't usually like Kids work.
 
Did you read

I should put this in the "What Are You Reading?" thread, but did anyone read "Shadowmancer" and "Wormwood" by someone named Taylor? They are kids' books. I just got them today. A friend of mine told me he has a shot at writing the screenplay for Wormwood if the first one, Shadowmancer (which is being produced now, I take it) does well as a movie. It sounded interesting.
 
I've heard of 'Shadowmancer' - and I beleive the guy who wrote it is a Christian - not totally sure tho. It does have the sort of title that draws me in tho!

As for the 'new CS Lewis' thing - there may well in the future be someone who writes stories that touch people in the same way, but if you consider how quickly literature has moved in the past 100years or so it will have to be pretty spectacular to make a massive impact, or is that just me being cynical?
 
The opposite?

Actually, Rosy, today's literary (at least mega-bookstore) environment gives a single book a BETTER chance to make a huge impression, I think. At least in the States, we have big chains of bookstores, and they tend to push forward their top-sellers, so the publishers are looking only for the next John Grisham or Anne Rice who is going to be prolific, and whose every book is going to be a bestseller. Although it's tougher for a small author to get published, if an author's work does sell, the publishers and bookstores here really publicize him. Does that make any sense?
 
Wallis said:
imitation is nice, but originality is more desired.
I agree. The way I see it, is this:

Immitation is a way for the creator to learn the basics of something: piano players playing pieces written by others, artists going to museums to copy the paintings, movie-makers making remakes.

Originality, however, is a way for the creator to grow in the medium, and tends to be more entertaining and pleasing for the audience.
 
I absolutely loved all of c.s. lewis' works, but he was very much influenced by George MacDonald, who I believe to be an excellent author. He was the very first real Fairy Tale Writer, and he was also a Christian. Both authors and J.R.R.Tolkien have influenced me as well, and I am now an author. I think that the chain of Fairy tale writers will continue going on, supported by the lovers of the ones who came before them. But if you haven't read George m's books, they are really superb.
 
I've read his books! They're good. :D I really liked the Lost Princess and that one... errr... what was it called? The Princess and Curdie or something like that? Well, ti was a long time ago. I should reread them! :)
 
Phantastes is also good, it's all I've read of his fairy tales, though I've read the excerpts of his that C.S. Lewis put together - it's a great collection, and you can see Lewis uses every one of MacDonald's ideas in some book or another.
 
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