“Do you realise what you’re saying? Think what another World means—you might meet anything—anything.”
Imagine someone offered you a gleaming yellow ring that could instantly transport you to another world. Would you go?
In C.S. Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew, the story’s characters face exactly this question. The conniving Uncle Andrew longs to learn about another world, yet he is too afraid to put on one of his own magic rings. Digory, however, risks everything to rescue his friend after she is swept into an unknown realm. He becomes more than a visitor to this other world, but an active participant in its story. Why? Because he had the courage to put on the magic ring.
Fictional stories are much like magic rings. Every tale sitting on a shelf is more than paper, ink, and binding. Each is an invitation to explore another world and help bring it to life. Let’s examine both how and why we do this.
Pick Up Your Paintbrush
In the children’s book Harold and the Purple Crayon, Harold creates an adventure simply by drawing shapes and objects with a purple crayon. I’ve often wondered what it would be like if Harold had a friend with a special paintbrush who could bring his pictures to life with depth and color.
When we read a book, the author is our Harold. In the world they’ve brought us to, their storytelling draws the outlines, and their descriptions provide wonder-filled cans of paint—full of hues, textures, sounds, smells, and more. However, it is the reader who holds the paintbrush. As we explore this other world, our imagination splashes it with color, depth, movement, and emotion—bringing it to life. Our eyes may read black squiggles on a white page, but our minds see flying airships, smell rotten food in a camp cafeteria, or hear water drip in a dark seaside cave. All of this happens because we are co-creating this world with the author. You didn’t realize you were so talented, did you?
This makes every person’s reading of every story beautifully unique. If I gave a copy of The Magician’s Nephew to ten different readers, that would mean ten different variations of Narnia were being explored. Perhaps this is why film adaptations often disappoint us. Even when excellent, they feel like a poor imitation of the world that we helped create.
Why We Create—and Why We Explore
Why do we create and explore fictional worlds? Before I offer my answers, I’m going to be up-front and tell you that my theological beliefs are the primary lens through which I see every aspect of life, including literature. As C.S. Lewis himself said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” You may not see the world in this way, but I appreciate your willingness to take the time to read my perspective.
With that said, I believe the reason we create fictional worlds is because we have creativity built into us. God, the Author of life, designed human beings to reflect Him. Because our Creator delights in creating worlds, we naturally delight in creating and cultivating as well—even when reading fiction. Our imagination is a reflection of His greater creativity.
Not only do we create other worlds, but we explore them. Why is it that we love to visit places like Narnia or Middle-earth? C.S. Lewis once wrote, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” This was not meant to be a literary statement by Lewis, but a deeply human one. Yet, I would say that our fascination with other worlds speaks to a deep longing within us for another world… a world I call the true other world.
The True Other World
I find it compelling that Jesus Christ, the greatest of all teachers, taught in parables—fictional stories that outlined and colored the deepest truths. Yet, these truths are not only of this world, but of another. He called this true other world, “the Kingdom.” He taught that you and I could begin experiencing this true other world even while we live in this one.
It is my belief that we read to explore fictional worlds because we were made for another. When we’re captivated by the love of a king lion who willingly gives his life to redeem a traitor… or when we find comfort from a wizard telling his friend that beyond the grey curtain of death are white shores and a far green country under a sunrise… these are moments where the radar of our heart is receiving the beacon signal of the true other world reaching out to us. The Great Author sending the signal is the same one who gave us the minds to receive it.
In Conclusion
So be a Digory, and not an Uncle Andrew. Don’t keep walking past the bookshelf. Stories are your magic rings. Open one, step into another world, and let your God-given imagination become the paintbrush that brings it to life. As you explore those worlds, pay attention to the moments that awaken wonder, courage, or longing. They may be the echoes of the true other world—the one for which we were made.
“The eastern sky changed from white to pink and pink to gold. The Voice rose and rose, till all the air was shaking with it. And just as it swelled to the mightiest and most glorious sound it had yet produced, the sun rose. Digory had never seen such a sun… The earth was of many colors: they were fresh, hot and vivid. They made you feel excited; until you saw the Singer himself, and then you forgot everything else. It was a Lion.” — C.S. Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew
Discussion Questions
- What is your favorite fictional world that you’ve explored in a book? What makes it so memorable?
- Has a moment in a book ever awakened a deep longing in your heart? What was it, and why do you think it affected you so deeply?
- Is there a book you’ve been meaning to read but keep “walking past”? What’s stopping you from opening it?
Creative Challenge
Choose a book you’ve been meaning to read. Open it to page one and commit to reading just the first chapter this week. Where has your “magic ring” taken you? As you read, pause and imagine one location as vividly as possible. Ask yourself:
- What do you see?
- What colors stand out?
- What textures surround you?
- What sounds do you hear?
- What does the air smell like?
- What emotions does this place evoke?
A Gift for You
If you’re not sure what to read for our Creative Challenge, I’d like to gift you my middle grade short story, The Wonder of the Seaside Cave. This short story is the prequel to my upcoming middle grade adventure novel, Sebastian Funny & the Brave Mountain, releasing Summer 2027.
About the Author
After years of working with kids and families, Chris Warszawski might be too old to travel through any wardrobes, but he’s old enough to write new adventures, inspired by the classics—filled with courage, wonder, and unforgettable characters—for today’s young readers.
To learn more about Chris and the stories he writes, visit chriswarsz.com.
You can sign up for his newsletter at chriswarsz.substack.com.
