Please describe pivotal moments in your creative writing journey.

There are two pivotal moments in my writing journey that stand out. The first surrounds my actual decision to become a writer. To give a bit of background, I was always fairly decent at creative writing. I recall  teachers displaying my poetry on school walls. At eight years old, I remember my third grade teacher had her students act out a play I had written about a dragon. This experience was encouraging, validating, and gave me visibility. Seeing the reaction of others to your writing expands your heart.

During my teenage years, there wasn’t much encouragement to write. At that time, I would say I was encouraged to pursue something more “practical,” and literature seemed like an ill-advised pursuit. Things changed once I graduated high-school. While pursuing a university degree completely unrelated to writing, I decided to go back to reading for my own pleasure and intellectual fulfillment, a habit I’d lost in high-school.  After completing my first masters degree, I decided to take writing seriously. This decision came during a a period of crisis in my life.  I had moved to a different city. I was feeling alone and adrift, going through the  typical crisis many of us go through in our twenties as we decide what we want to do and be in life. I didn’t want life to simply be work, home and solitude. I knew I had to pursue a “normal” job, but I also knew I was attracted to the “life of the mind” and the life of writing. I wanted a deeper sense of purpose, and  to do something completely for me that was self-actualized. Up until that point I had done things I had to do or was expected to do. I made a decision  to write a book and pursue the completion of that book as a goal in and of itself.

A second pivotal moment in my writing journey occurred in 2013 when I published one of my first short stories. Up until that point, I had completed a creative writing certificate from the University of Toronto and  had been nominated for a few prizes. I randomly submitted a story I had written  (“Under Frozen Soil”) which was selected and published in a well-established literary magazine. For the first time since that moment I resolved to be a writer, I received outside validation from those whom I knew liked my writing for what it was, without any bias from personally knowing me. It also seemed to validate the sacrifices I made to pursue my passion for writing. With the nominal payment I received,  I could finally call myself a professional writer and use this achievement as a laurel I could display when sending out query letters to agents and publishers once I finished writing my first novel. The magazine even invited me to read an excerpt  of my story for the issue’s public launch, which my family attended. I remember inviting my parents to the reading, who told me after the event  that two attendees listening to my reading were moved to tears by the story,  proving to me that it was possible to move people emotionally with my work.

What type of writing in particular interests you?

I gravitate towards prose, which can be generally described as writing that is not metered or lyrical like poetry. Having said that, I’m attracted to prose that has a certain lyrical quality to it. These days I mostly read and write literary fiction, although I first became attracted to reading through science fiction short stories . I can even remember the first short story that drew me into reading - it was a story titled “Kaleidoscope” by Ray Bradbury that I read when I was eight years old. I won’t describe the story too much for anyone interested in reading it as it has a twist ending that’s worth encountering blindly, but I remember the combination of its extraterrestrial setting and the emotional impact of the characterization felt very powerful at that young age.

About ten to twenty pages in length, short stories are brief enough that people feel they can invest in them without the investment of a novel. With novels of course, you have a lot more freedom with the writing process. As someone who’s written a full-length novel manuscript and has written (and published) short stories, I can tell you that short-form fiction is always more challenging.

What are some of your writing achievements?

Some of the writing achievements with which I have been blessed are:

• Completing a certificate in writing from the University of Toronto

• Completing several short stories some of which have been published (e.g. Under Frozen Soil and Zahra)

• Being involved in writing communities and

• Completing a full length novel manuscript and starting on my second novel

How has traveling played a role in your writing?

It’s played a pivotal role. Traveling allows me space to think, observe and write. It also adds to a writer’s ability to expose the world in different ways. I do tend to do some occasional travel writing on my blog, but even aside from that, because I spent so much of my early life traveling and experiencing the world in so many different locations, realistically everything I write is influenced by a sense of internationalism.  It’s important to see that the world doesn’t begin and end in North America. Even with all the time I’ve lived in Canada I still feel somewhat like a foreigner here, and travel has given me the blessing of not seeing the world through a parochial lens.

Please talk about your involvement with writing communities and its benefits.

I’ve been involved in various writing circles for some time with writers in various stages of their artistic journeys. Most members of these circles have been people who I have met through or have been otherwise affiliated with writing classes offered at universities. These circles involve a mix between sharing one’s work and critiquing other people’s submissions. I would describe the sharing of feedback between writers as essentially an exercise in trust. The assistance given to me to see my blind spots in situations where I am not effectively communicating with my audience has helped me to become a better self-editor. Critical feedback can be bracing. At the very least, however, I think humility in accepting that feedback saves one from an otherwise eventual rude awakening when one tries to bring their work out to the greater public.

I think a writing community can give you a sense of belonging in a field that’s fundamentally solitary. There’s a sense of security knowing that there are other people like you in times when others may see your writing as a frivolous and strange endeavour. This resource is a great opportunity for networking in the field and helps allow you to live your identity as a writer.


What has kept you persevering in the craft of creative writing all these years?

As with many writers, I would like recognition. I don’t want to betray the best qualities of my youth, one of which was my interest in reading and writing. I also wanted to see literature representative of my background circulating, and if you don’t see yourself represented in the art you like, you have to create that art.

Writing is a marathon and not a sprint. One has to have faith amidst the unknown, balance rejection with hope, develop humility, and accept both success and failure as part of the process.

On another note,  there’s a big movement now to diversify fiction, especially in the English-speaking market. As a Muslim South Asian immigrant, I want a voice at the table, and to contribute to the ongoing discussion on diversity in fiction. I hope this trend continues, as art and writing are meant to be universal.


Who are some of your influences in creative writing?

It’s difficult to summarize my influences. In a sense, your entire life, including the art that you consume, is what pushes you to want to create. I’ve been influenced by many writers, no doubt, but being from a generation that consumed as many films as we did books, I could even say that movies have been as much of an influence as reading has. If I had to choose literary influences, a few come to mind:

Cormac McCarthy’s Westerns are dark books about the American South West. You can tell he really cares about prose, and his writing for me evokes a sense of spirituality and odd surrealness. Because of my own spiritual background, I’m attracted to writing that involves all things that are  hidden or esoteric.

Paul Bowles was an American expat who lived in North Africa. In many ways, he can be a problematic author, but I know of few other English-language authors who know how to write about the exotic as well as he does. Without judgment, he could express the way people in non-Western settings actually live and not how they should live according to a Western lens.  The mystery in his writing always strikes me, that even when writing about common things, you could sense an underlying strangeness. Haruki Murakami, another author, is similar in this sense.

Additionally, I have always had an interest in poetry from the Sufi (Islamic) tradition. Part of that is cultural - coming from a Muslim South Asian background, tasawwuf has a large cultural influence. Part of that is also part of my own personal journey in educating myself about our spiritual traditions. If there’s anything that Sufi poetry teaches you, it’s that the spiritual life can provide immense fuel to one’s creative life. The sheer power of the emotion they (Muslim Sufi poets) contained resonated with me at a young age, and continues to do so now.

Please tell us about one particular technique in writing that interests you.

One technique in writing is to express a description of the world in a heightened way - to see something magnificent in everyday normal life.

Being an author is like holding someone’s hand in a forest. If your writing is too vague, you are letting go of a peron’s hand, and yet if you write too forcefully and unnecessarily, it’s like you are dragging them. It’s all about finding that balance. You have to situate a reading with what you want the reader to experience

I feel that one of my strengths in writing is depicting people’s inner lives and emotions, and one aspect of writing I am aiming to improve relates to the broader plot and narrative points.


How do you view the fact that your life involves writing?

If I look at my writing as a gift, it’s important to be humble with it. As I receive recognition for my work, I hope I don’t become too egoistic in my pursuits. Reaching a certain level of success should not undermine one’s sense of humility.

In a practical sense, writing is a way for me to help fill a gap in the lack of representation I saw in the literary world, in terms of my own religious and cultural identities. I love storytelling, and I wanted to see my experiences represented in the art that I loved. Writing can be used as a tool in fighting against invisibility. Having said that, the religious and cultural references in my works are never used to preach, it’s simply to express and illuminate human experiences that I hope everyone can see as valid and worth exploring. My objective in art is to create good art. Beyond that I hope it encourages people to think about the human condition in a deeper way. Good art hits the heart, great art hits the mind and the best art hits both.


Some discourage creativity, and amidst our discussion on the validity of art and creative writing, Saad mentioned:

People have an innate sense to see beauty and elegance, and human aspirations are not strictly functional. Writing, like any art or skill, adds a sense of refinement to life. Being refined has no class restriction and everyone can aspire to the noble concepts of being a “gentleman” or “renaissance man”, being multidimensional and showing enthusiasm for different things.


What are some of the transferable skills you’ve gained through creative writing?

The endeavor of writing has both its burdens and gifts. On the one hand, ambition can make one impatient and frustrated. Talent doesn’t mean anything without application. I accept that perservering through this journey is part of who I am, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Writing has improved my ability to concentrate and the editing process has made me more introspective and self-aware.

Writing has also given me a sense of dignity. It’s meaningful dealing with words (whether from great oral or written cultures) and is often noted as a sign of civility. Writing is empowering. And despite the challenges, the small percentage of success is worth the struggle.


How has your writing outlook changed/evolved when you compare the start of your journey to present day.

In certain ways it’s become more positive, and in other ways not so much. As with anything in life, time and age does tend to accentuate one’s frustrations when you compare your ambitions with what you’ve achieved to date. I would have liked to have been more successful in publishing my first novel for example, or publishing stories that I believe have merit. At the same time, with what achievements and time I’ve invested in the process, I feel greater confidence in saying that I am a writer without that statement seeming false or pretentious. In a sense, I feel more confident in identifying as a writer than I have in years past.


What do you want others to know about creative writing?

Anyone can write. I sincerely believe writing is a mix of innate talent and application, and more people can and should pursue it than many people realize. As a middle-class Pakistani Muslim immigrant, I come from a background that often emphasized being practical and pursuing activities solely to ensure stability in life.

People should be open to engaging in a creative, artistic life. Reading and writing is more than a functional tool - it’s a personal pursuit meant to benefit the self. There’s a rich tradition of personal and artistic writing in many cultures - write about your reflections on this world. Don’t just read to learn a skill, also read and write to become a more thoughtful human being which will improve every aspect of your life.


Al-Fatiha!

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