A serious practitioner of any discipline, creative or otherwise, works towards maturing their craft to a level of excellence. For writers, maturity of craft means having the instinct and judgment to consistently make the right conceptual and technical choices in … Continued
I opted for traditional publishing but let’s be clear: there is nothing wrong with self-publishing. Writers choose traditional publishing or self-publishing based on decisions about what is best for their book and their trajectory as a writer. With so many … Continued
We writers are an anxious, self-doubting lot. We tie ourselves up in knots, expecting Pulitzer-worthy flow from our pens, have whip-cracking inner editors, self-flagellating internal monologues… It’s very common then, for us to second guess ourselves and our accomplishments. Even … Continued
Lately, a strange thing has been happening and it has happened enough times for me to take notice. I’m getting my best writing done when I’m at my busiest. A sizzling new verse, begging to be turned into a poem, … Continued
It’s not easy being ruthless. I get attached to the sentences I write. I develop soulful relationships with whole stanzas and passages during the process of their creation. If I hang on to them with the ferocity of a pitbull … Continued
This blog post is for two types of people: 1- Those who want to write but are paralyzed at the thought of beginning their project. 2- Those who start writing but their passion, ambition and ideas fizzle out midway through … Continued
Right off the bat, let’s clarify: Perspective and Point of View (POV) are two different things. Perspective is the character-speaker-narrator through which you want to tell your story or poem. POV is how that character tells the story (in first, … Continued
“It has been estimated that the average person has sixty thousand separate thoughts each and every day.” – Wayne W. Dyer. Most of us have minds that race night and day and if you’re a writer a major chunk of … Continued
I’m visiting Pakistan, Ramzan just ended and it’s Eid holidays. That alone should be enough to make me throw down my pen and surrender to the lure of long-awaited family gatherings, conversations that end at dawn, excursions with kids, constant … Continued
Cultural representation in a language not native to that culture is tricky business. As someone who writes poetry on Indo-Pak culture and its socio-political dynamics – not in Urdu or any of the many regional languages, but in English – … Continued