Bad writing advice

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.