C.S. Lewis’s advice on writing

C.S. Lewis’s advice on writing (taken from his letters):

1. Turn off the Radio. (Stephen King says to turn off the television while Zadie Smith says to turn off the Internet!)
2. Read all the good books you can, and avoid nearly all magazines.
3. Always write (and read) with the ear, not the eye. You should hear every sentence you write as if it was being read aloud or spoken. If it does not sound nice, try again.
4. Write about what really interests you, whether it is real things or imaginary things, and nothing else. (Notice this means that if you are interested only in writing you will never be a writer, because you will have nothing to write about…)
5. When you give up a bit of work don’t (unless it is hopelessly bad) throw it away. Put it in a drawer. It may come in useful later…