{"id":7823,"date":"2011-10-25T13:45:42","date_gmt":"2011-10-25T17:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/?p=7823"},"modified":"2013-05-31T17:42:59","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T01:42:59","slug":"writing-routine-of-c-s-lewis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/writing-routine-of-c-s-lewis\/","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Writing Routine of C. S. Lewis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Writing<\/p>\n

C. S. Lewis lived before computers, cell-phones, TVs, and blogs. Also, for most of his life, he was unmarried. Having said that, all of us who strive to write can learn something from C. S. Lewis about his ideal daily writing routine as a full-time author.<\/p>\n

The following comes from chapter 9 of his autobiography: Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life<\/em><\/a>\"\".<\/p>\n

I would choose always to breakfast at exactly eight and to be at my desk by nine, there to read or write till one. If a cup of good tea or coffee could be brought me about eleven, so much the better.<\/p>\n

As step or two out of doors for a pint of beer would not do quite so well; for a man does not want to drink alone and if you meet a friend in the taproom the break is likely to be extended beyond its ten minutes.<\/p>\n

At one precisely lunch should be on the table; and by two at the latest I would be on the road. Not, except at rare intervals, with a friend. Walking and talking are two very great pleasures, but it is a mistake to combine them. Our own noise blots out the sounds and silences of the outdoor world; and talking leads almost inevitably to smoking, and then farewell to nature as far as one of our senses is concerned. The only friend to walk with is one who so exactly shares your taste for each mood of the countryside that a glance, a halt, or at most a nudge, is enough to assure us that the pleasure is shared.<\/p>\n

The return from the walk, and the arrival of tea, should be exactly\u00a0coincident, and not later than a quarter past four. Tea should be taken in solitude, …for eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably. Of course not all books are suitable for mealtime reading. It would be a kind of blasphemy to read poetry at table. What one wants is a gossipy, formless book which can be opened anywhere…<\/p>\n

At five a man should be at work again, and at it till seven. Then, at the evening meal and after, comes the time for talk, or, failing that, for lighter reading; and unless you are making a night of it with your cronies there is no reason why you should ever be in bed later than eleven.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Such a routine will not work for all of us, but the point is to have a routine, and to know when your best writing and thinking hours are, and in the other hours, do things that both stimulate and stretch the brain in new and creative directions.<\/p>\n

How about you? Do you have a writing routine? What does it look like? What the essentials? When are your best writing hours? How do you let your mind relax?<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CS Lewis had an ideal daily writing routine which he tried to follow during most of his writing career. 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