Before I get into today’s email, I have a small favour to ask of you if you had considered joining my Grounded Writers program in the past but chose not to do so. If you could fill out this quick survey for me, I’d greatly appreciate it!

Earlier this week, I was giving feedback to a writer on a short story. Her story focused on the relationship between a brother and a sister and included elements of gender interactions between Muslim teenagers.

I love short stories and I especially love this writer’s work and how much depth there is in her storytelling. I shared with her some things that I felt weren’t working as well as they could and shared suggestions on how to make the story stronger.

On that call, she mentioned that she had also shared this story with a critique partner who is white, who made a comment about how we Muslims have these rules. She said it was interesting that when I read her story, I just got it, because to us Muslims, this is just life; it doesn't feel like rules.

I always advocate for Muslim writers to not explain anything in their stories that’s normal for their characters, which is what this writer did in her short story.

I wasn't surprised that she received that comment from her non-Muslim critique partner because I've been in writing workshops where other writers have said similar things to me. But that doesn't mean that we have to cater to those audiences.

We can still write our stories as if the world that our characters live in is a 'normal' world. We don't have to otherize ourselves.

For example, in one of my short stories, there’s a scene where the father of the main character, Maryam, is interrogating another character, Adnan about his religious practices.

In that scene, the father asks Adnan about how much Quran he has memorized and whether he prays regularly. I don’t explain what the Quran is, why memorizing it is a noble act, or even what occasionally sleeping through your fajr alarm can signal to someone what your religious commitment looks like. I just assume that any reader can intuit what they need to know from contextual clues, and if they want to know more, they can always look it up.

Here’s how I wrote that scene:

A white editor accepted this story, saying, “It's a wonderful and complex story.” She didn't ask me to explain anything or to add context. And alhamdulillah, this story went on to become a finalist for a prize that was judged by three other non-Muslim authors.

I know that some authors will choose to explain Islamic and/or cultural elements in their books and I appreciate that they might be doing so in order to make their stories more accessible to a wider audience.

But for me personally, it feels so freeing to write something as if I myself am the intended audience for that story. Some of my favourite books by Muslim authors are written in this way too. Two recent books that I read and especially enjoyed are “Where The Jasmine Blooms” by Zeina Sleiman and “A Mouth Full of Salt” by Reem Gaafar. “Such Big Dreams” by Reema Patel is also a book I really enjoyed because it didn’t feel like it was written for a white audience.

If you’re interested in reading more about this take, especially from a cultural angle, this essay is a very thoughtful and insightful read: "Kimchi has always been a part of my English"​

With best wishes & duas for your writing,

Hajera

Here's how I can support you in your writing:

✍🏽 Learn craft and write stronger stories: Join the waitlist for Grounded Writers, a creative writing community for Muslim women​

📖 Find fiction intimidating and not sure how to go from writing about your life to writing fictional stories? It's easier than you think. Take my Ease Into Fiction course now at 70% off​

📞 Struggling with writing and need guidance from someone who has been where you are now? Book a call with me and get advice that works for you and gets you feeling excited about your writing again​