Eight Rules for Good Writing from C. S. Lewis

In 1959, an American schoolgirl appealed to C. S. Lewis for writing advice, and he sent her a list of eight rules for good writing:

1. Turn off the radio [and television].
2. Read good books and avoid most magazines.
3. Write with the ear, not the eye. Make every sentence sound good.
4. Write only about things that interest you. If you have no interests, you won't ever be a writer.
5. Be clear. Remember that readers can't know your mind. Don't forget to tell them exactly what they need to know to understand you.
6. Save odds and ends of writing attempts, because you may be able to use them later.
7. You need a well-trained sense of word-rhythm, and the noise of a typewriter will interfere.
8. Know the meaning of every word you use.

It occurs to me that Lewis' advice centers on two themes - block out interference from the outside world while writing and have a keen connection to the outside world while not writing.  It makes sense doesn't it?  Writing, at least good writing, involves a process that requires focus, but also needs interesting content, which cannot be obtained without a connection to what is going on in the world around us (including to good writing from others).  It's the same with preaching and living out the Christian life - both require focus and are incomplete without a connection to others, Christian and non-Christian, living around us.