No phrase has killed more dreams than “what will people say?” Any person who has ever put themselves or their work in the public sphere has been concerned with how it will be received. It can be paralyzing for any … Continued
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
“You’ve been working on your book forever!” “How long has it been? 3 years? 5 years?” “At this rate you’ll never finish.” If you’re a writer, you’ve probably heard the above or some version of it at least once. Worse, … Continued
The past year and a half was a time of ruthless revision – polishing and compiling my work into a manuscript that I hope, in the near future, publishers everywhere will start a ferocious bidding war to acquire (ha!). It … Continued
Exactly one year, one month and a day ago, I wrote my first Scribe’s Madness post. What started as a virgin attempt at blogging turned into a labour of love. The past year brought me closer to realizing my writing … 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
In July – August this year I made a trip to Pakistan where I had the opportunity to read my poetry at an event organized by the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) and the Islamabad Literary Forum. It was … 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