Author Archives: Hajera Khaja

On being selected as a finalist for the PEN Canada New Voices Award

Alhamdulillah, I am a finalist for the 2024 PEN Canada New Voices Award.* I tend to not submit my work to contests because the competition feels fierce and I know so many good stories don’t win, because, how to choose what stands out from hundreds of submissions? But I pushed myself this year to submitContinue reading “On being selected as a finalist for the PEN Canada New Voices Award”

Writing about heavy topics

Feeling stuck when writing about difficult topics is an issue that often comes up with writers I work with. If you’re struggling with the same issue, I hope this helps! Why we feel stuck in the first place The feeling of stuckness or feeling blocked is often a sign that you’re avoiding writing about somethingContinue reading “Writing about heavy topics”

Why critique won’t make you a better writer

In Grounded Writers, my membership program for Muslim writers, every month we have a live feedback session. Our members submit their work to me, and on the call we have a conversation about their writing and how they can make their stories stronger. I try to make sure it’s a collaborative process and that myContinue reading “Why critique won’t make you a better writer”

A roadmap for your writing journey

“How do I get started?” I hear this question often from writers who are new to writing and also from writers who have been writing for a while but want to start working towards a goal and want to get published.  My answer to this question is really simple: read a lot and write aContinue reading “A roadmap for your writing journey”

Writing advice you should probably ignore

I’m working on a new course called Ease Into Fiction, which is designed for writers who are new to fiction and writers who want to write fiction but find it intimidating and can’t seem to move past writing about themselves. In prepping for the course, I asked writers in my Instagram stories to share their biggestContinue reading “Writing advice you should probably ignore”

When motivation is hard to come by

When writers tell me their biggest struggle when it comes to their writing is actually finding time to write, I like to probe a little bit, and narrow down what the core issue really is. I’ve shared some thoughts about when your writing needs to take a backseat here, and when your writing is alwaysContinue reading “When motivation is hard to come by”

When your writing is always taking a backseat

When writers tell me their biggest struggle when it comes to their writing is actually finding time to write, I like to probe a little bit, and narrow down what the core issue really is. I talked about the first issue here: when your writing needs to take a backseat. In this post, I’m goingContinue reading “When your writing is always taking a backseat”

When your writing needs to take a backseat

When writers tell me their biggest struggle when it comes to their writing is actually finding time to write, I like to probe a little bit, and narrow down what the core issue really is. Usually it’s one of three things: I want to address the first scenario in this blog post. If you areContinue reading “When your writing needs to take a backseat”