Sound Advice

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to attend sessions at the Texas Book Festival. In the morning, I had the chance to attend the O. Henry Prize Celebration, which was moderated by Laura Furman, who is the editor of the prize-winning stories. When she opened it up for questions, I asked the writers, Youmna Chlala and Jamil Kochai, about their philosophies on using languages other than English in their writing.

Being a writer who often uses other languages in his work, I am always curious to know how others incorporate foreign languages into their writing. Youmna Chlala was of the opinion that a writer should "just do it," and Jamil Kochai considered the use of his mother tongue essential to his writing about his native Afghanistan.

Laura Furman provided what I would consider universal advice for writers. She said to always assume that your reader is as smart or smarter than you are. Heeding such advice causes a writer to create work that challenges the reader but also the writer, for he or she should always assume that the person reading his or her work is both wiser and more intelligent. That causes a writer to always strive for excellence. That, I feel, is sound advice that I will carry with me down the road.