بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Bookish Goodies to Promote Author Brand or Books Bookish goodies, author swag, and author merch are great ways to promote your author brand or your book. (And book boxes are all the rage these days.) What’s a book swag? They’re gifts that accompany a book such as a bookmark. Book swag […]
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بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Ramadan TBR Aside from the Noble Qu’ran (which this month is sacred and based upon), here’s a list of books I’m reading this Ramadan (1445 AH/2024): Forty Rabbana (40 “Our Lord” supplications from the Noble Qur’an) The Supreme Daily Remembrance: the Noble Litany (Supplications) The Gift of Ramadan: Virtues, Rulings, and
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بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Sustainable, Alternative Websites to Amazon I want to keep track of the websites I use in my everyday life, so I’ve put together this (growing) list of sustainable sites and alternatives to Amazon*: Vitacost – household and other food products Hal&Al Meats – HFSAA Halal certified meats Halal Pastures – HSFAA
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بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Why I Write Science-Fiction & Fantasy As a Muslim, our greatest belief is in Allah, His Angels, His Messengers (peace upon them all), and how He is the Creator of all things. That alone is beyond the realm of the physical, limited scope of human reality. And I find the only
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بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Things I Love to See in Books Here’s a list of things I love to see in books (in no particular order and I’ll update when I find more to add): Maps Illustrations Prologues Epilogues Fancy chapter headers Fancy scene breaks Fancy Table of Contents Drop caps Glossaries Epigraphs Non-English words
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بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Using AI to WriteA Dark Fantasy Novel Back February of 2022, I had a dream about three princes, plus a girl who can change to shadow. Some months later, my dark fantasy story was born (first draft written). But during the “middle” part of the novel, I thought about using AI
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بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Bechdel Test is Toxic Feminism – Do Not Use It For Your Writing Update: I came across a literary agent who only accepts manuscripts that “pass” the Bechdel Test. In other words, she’s gatekeeping the vast majority of stories just to fit her narrow-minded mold. Writers beware! A few years
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بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Five Easy Tips for Worldbuilding Before we dive into the tips, here’s a question to consider: Can you tell this story by taking your characters and putting them in another setting? If yes, then you might want to rethink your story. A strong story has the setting deeply tied to the
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بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Jinn:A Quick Guide on WritingJinn Characters Western pop culture and media have misrepresented another non-western topic, the jinn, to the point where they’ve been romantasized and even fetishized. And due to their disbelief in things that aren’t “visible” jinn are considered “mythological” or “supernatural” beings (and as Muslims, it’s a
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بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Ultimate Guide on Writing Muslim Characters In the last decade, there have been a great number of fiction books with Muslim characters. I appreciate that the media is trying to be more inclusive and diverse, but what they (still) fail to do is portray Muslims accurately (or they limit what’s
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