〖 Bad writing advice 〗
Bad writing advice
Bad writing advice
Writing advice is everywhere. Some of it might even be good! But we were interested in the bad. We asked seven writers for the worst writing advice they were ever given. Bad in general, or bad for them in particular. Bad advice about writing discipline, bad advice about self-expression and bad advice about the audience. For the authors we spoke to, the worst bad advice was given by established writers & rich people, while the best bad advice backfired into good advice.
☞ Mansoura Ez-Eldin: « You should always think of your readers while writing. »
☞ Ralph Tharayil: « Never listen to people’s opinions on your ongoing work »
☞ Ido Nahari: « Just tell her how you feel, she’ll understand. »
☞ Rebecca Rukeyser: « Humanity lies only in the details. »
☞ Sytske van Koeveringe: « People want a clear story, to be taken along. »
☞ Khaled Alesmael: « Write only in Swedish.»
☞ Samar Yazbek: « Let yourself be carried away by the madness of inspiration.»
We asked seven writers for the worst writing advice they were ever given. Bad in general, or bad for them in particular. Bad advice about writing discipline, bad advice about self-expression and bad advice about the audience.
I was a nineteen-year-old undergraduate who moved from her tiny village to study journalism and live on her own in Cairo, chasing her elusive dream of becoming a writer. A writer and editor from an older generation had published my first short story, accompanied with an encouraging introduction. Naturally, I visited the magazine headquarters to thank him, after I’d moved to Cairo and started knowing my way around.
In a spacious office that overlooked the Nile, the man gave me three books to read. He singled one of them out, saying: « This is such a bad book, take it as an example of how not to write! » It was a photocopy of a book that had been published months before and had caused upheaval. The man added, « It is a damned novel; the author doesn’t respect the readers. How dare he insult religion like that! His aim must have been to be translated into many languages! You should always think of your readers while writing. » I remember reading the novel on the bus on my way back to my rented room. I covered it so that no one could recognize neither its title nor its author, who was the talk of the town back then. I didn’t want to get into trouble. Despite the advice and the warning, I liked the novel a lot and admired how it was structured. I reread it many times trying to figure out what the old writer meant by « respecting the reader ».
For me, respecting the reader is taking care of every detail, writing as best as I can according to my aesthetic values, and not burdening myself with the expectations of unknown readers or turning them into potential censors. Every time I began writing a new text, I would remember the advice of « thinking of the reader » before deciding to ignore it. But when it comes to the editing process, I respect the reader’s intelligence through taking care of every minor artistic detail and bettering the language.
Mansoura Ez-Eldin is the managing editor of the magazine Akhbar al-Adab. She has published various novels and short story collections, and has been translated into more than ten languages.