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*: EarthHero – eco-friendly consumer products Vitacost – household and other food products Hal&Al Meats – HFSAA Halal certified […]
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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 Drop caps Glossaries Epigraphs Non-English words in respective languages Author’s
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بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 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 characters; 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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بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ List of Websites Where You Can Promote Your Books for Free Published a book and want to share it with the world but don’t have the budget for ads and marketing? Here’s a list of websites that offer FREE book promotion. Just make sure your book meets the requirements when applying! eBook
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بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ A List of Interesting Websites Here’s a list of interesting websites I’ve found over the years. I’ll update these regularly, so make sure to bookmark this page. Warning: You might spend a little too much time on them! Weave Silk: Interactive generative art Fluid Simulation: Interactive fluid art Inkarnate: Make maps
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بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Inspiration BehindA Thousand Silver Crescents Back in 2012, there was a fantasy short story contest hosted by SFF indie authors (it’s not around anymore). I don’t remember what the prompt was, but I wrote a story called “The Sacrifice” loosely inspired by 1001 Nights and the Maldivian legend of how Islam
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بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Islamic Writing Prompts A few years ago, I taught at a non-profit Islamic school. But I didn’t teach about Islam. I was an academic teacher—my job was to teach Math, Science, Social Studies, and English. But when it came to writing, I had no idea how to come with ideas to
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بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ My Inspiration List In this short post, I’ll include a list of the things that inspire me (and you might find them in my books). The categories are setting, characters, plot & tropes, and objects & miscellaneous. This list post idea came from Young Adult author Marissa Meyer’s Instagram post. Settings
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