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”
Author Archives: Hajera Khaja
Taking risks as a writer
I’m working on a short story collection and one of the stories that I’m writing is in the epistolary form. One character is writing a letter to another character, and that’s the structure in which the story is told. But the story didn’t start out that way. It started out like a regular story, aContinue reading “Taking risks as a writer”
Your first draft is not awful
First drafts always get such a bad rep — Sh*tty first draft. A vomit draft. Bad. Crappy. Terrible. Just google “first draft quotes” and you’ll see so many writers and authors talking about first drafts in this way. I get that a first draft will never be perfect. But is a final draft ever perfect?Continue reading “Your first draft is not awful”
What if you’re already good?
I recently shared this popular quote by Ira Glass with my Grounded Writers group. It’s a quote that I’ve shared on social media more than once and it’s even on the About page on my website where I say it’s my favourite writing quote. Here’s the quote: “Nobody tells this to people who are beginners,Continue reading “What if you’re already good?”
On rejections and negative reviews
Over the last little while I’ve had many conversations with writers about critique and rejections and negative reviews, and I wanted to share some thoughts here in case they’re helpful to other writers. I know a lot has been said already, and perhaps I’m not adding anything new or particularly insightful, but I occupy severalContinue reading “On rejections and negative reviews”
Writing is not a talent
Every time I finish a manuscript critique and I’m about to send it off to the writer, I always feel a little nervous before I hit Send. I feel like I’m letting the writer down, like I’m sending a package of disappointment their way. Because almost always, the story or the writing needs more work.Continue reading “Writing is not a talent”
How to overcome ‘writer’s block’ (Part 2)
I’ve been talking about writer’s block in the last few posts. Here is the initial post where I talk about why I don’t believe in writer’s block, and here is how to overcome writer’s block part 1. In this post, I want to talk about how to overcome feeling stuck in the midst of aContinue reading “How to overcome ‘writer’s block’ (Part 2)”
How to overcome ‘writer’s block’
In a previous post, I talked about why I don’t believe in writer’s block, at least not it the way it’s generally portrayed and understood. To me, writer’s block is simply a state of feeling stuck in our writing, feeling unsure about what to write or how to proceed with a particular project if you’veContinue reading “How to overcome ‘writer’s block’”
Why I don’t believe in writer’s block
Pop culture has given us this image of a writer, someone who sits at a desk day and night and their story flows out of them at a maddening pace until they have birthed their book, in its entirety, until they are exhausted. They eat nothing but toast for days on end (that is, ifContinue reading “Why I don’t believe in writer’s block”
On not writing in a pandemic
I haven’t been able to get to my desk for a while. With young kids at home, unable to see their friends in school or visit grandparents and other family, I find myself tending to them before anything else. Writing has fallen to the wayside. I forced myself to sit down at my desk thisContinue reading “On not writing in a pandemic”