The Two Longings of Story According to CS Lewis
He wanted to be a better man because of a character I created. After a lifetime of alcohol, he stopped drinking. He stopped hitting his wife. He hit off on the TV and took her to a museum and dinner. He hasn’t looked back. One of dozens of similar letters about my Western series made me revisit my writing philosophy to figure out why these men are cleaning up their lives and thinking outside themselves. The idea comes from the first book I read on how to write, written by C.S. Lewis. On Three Ways of Writing for Children, C.S. Lewis explains two types of longing. Of the first longing: Askesis, a spiritual exercise, creating longing. C.S. Lewis was big on fantasy worlds, epic ideals, myths, and fairytales. But what does reading about dragons, villains, mysteries, and the like actually do?