C.S. Lewis's last interview was on May 7, 1963—six months before he died. Sherwood Wirt (1911-2001) asked for his writing advice: "How would you suggest a young Christian writer go about developing a style?"
Lewis responded:
The way for a person to develop a style is
(a) to know exactly what he wants to say, and
(b) to be sure he is saying exactly that.
The reader, we must remember, does not start by knowing what we mean. If our words are ambiguous, our meaning will escape him.
I sometimes think that writing is like driving sheep down a road. If there is any gate open to the left or the right the reader will most certainly go into it.
—C. S. Lewis, "Cross-Examination," in C.S. Lewis: Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces, ed. Lesley Walmsley (London: HarperCollins, 2000), 555.
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