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Hajera Khaja

I help Muslim women reconnect with their writing and I teach creative writing in a way that's fun and intuitive. I love to see writers begin to believe in themselves again, break through their struggles and resistance, and show up on the page in all their brilliance.

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family & grief

Salaam Reader, I was talking a friend the other day who, like me, grew up without extended family nearby. As adults, it feels like we missed out on so much. Those feelings resurface for me every time someone passes away. It’s a strange kind of grief, to mourn someone who you’re supposed to be close to, but aren’t. I had written an essay about this after my nani passed away. I told my friend I’d share the essay with her and I thought I’d share it with you too. You can read it here on my blog....

Salaam Reader, The day that Hossam Shabat, a journalist from Gaza, was martyred, I was planning to send an email about including your writing dreams in your duas in these blessed last ten nights of Ramadan. But when I opened Instagram that morning and saw the news, a deep sense of despair set in. Watching Israel resume the horrific violence against Palestinians has been dismaying but there was something about Hossam being killed that felt like a gut punch. I used to follow him on Instagram...

Salaam Reader, Last week, I ran a free live writing session (if you joined or registered for it, thank you!) We wrote together for a fixed time to writing prompts that I shared on the call. After every few prompts, I invited writers to read what they had written. After the session, I received an almost identical message from two separate writers. They felt like they did the freewriting part all wrong. Compared to the other writers who shared their work, they felt their writing was plain and...

Salaam Reader, I didn’t used to write in Ramadan. Many years ago, before I started teaching writing, before any of my stories were published, before I began to think of my writing as something worthy of care and attention, I used to take a break from writing in Ramadan. Just like I took a break from listening to music and watching movies, I also took a break from writing. It pains me now to think that I used to treat my writing as something wasteful and indulgent — akin to watching a movie —...

Salaam Reader, I’ve been toying with an idea for a novel for a few years now. I’ve written some random scenes and occasionally think about the plot and how the story might end. But every time I think about actually sitting down and starting, I get nervous. I’ve experienced this many times before, as have many writers I’ve worked with. And I'm trying to remind myself that this is normal. It’s okay to feel nervous and worried about our writing, to feel like we don’t know what we're doing, or to...

Salaam Reader, I've been struggling with my writing lately, as have many writers I'm working with. We’ve all been feeling burdened by responsibilities, feeling guilty for not making time for our writing, or feeling stuck when we do sit down to write and nothing meaningful comes out. Most people would describe this as writer’s block. Here's the thing though. I don’t actually believe in writer’s block. It feeds into the myth that stories are born whole and complete and simply pour out of us...

Salaam Reader, A few years ago, I wrote a story, revised it many times, and then I started sending it out to magazines for publication. I felt like it was a strong story. But it kept getting rejected. Every time a rejection came back, I told myself I just needed to be patient, that the story hadn’t found the right editor yet, and kept sending it out to more places. After I amassed about 30 rejections, I had to face the possibility that something might not be working. It meant that perhaps I...

Salaam Reader, This week’s email is a quick one, because as writers, reading about writing can make us feel like we’re writing. But I don’t need to tell you that it’s just another way we avoid writing 😂 Why then is sitting down to write one of the hardest parts of being a writer? Here are some thoughts to sit with: Maybe you’re afraid of the blank page, and you’re not sure what to write about. Maybe you’re afraid that nothing you write will be good. Maybe you’re afraid to discover you’re not...

Salaam Reader, So many of us struggle to make time for our writing. When I search for solutions online, the answers are plentiful. They all sound like: If you really want to write, you’ll make time to write. It’s easy to find examples of famous writers who lead busy lives but still made time to write: They woke up at 5am! They wrote after everyone went to bed! They skipped outings with friends and chose to write! There is some truth to that sentiment, I think. Which is that in order to say...

Salaam Reader, I always love this time of the year. The leaves are turning red and the weather is that beautiful in-between when the heat of the summer has receded and the cold winter winds have yet to arrive. We’re also approaching a year into this genocide, and it’s difficult to recall the joy that I used to feel when fall arrives. But despite the heaviness, I know that it isn’t beneficial or praiseworthy to give up on feeling grateful for the many blessings Allah has placed in our life,...