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 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 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 Gratitude List #1 Jumu’ah Mubarak! Happy Friday! Just thought I’d make a gratitude list for today, thanking Allah (SWT) for all that I’ve been provided with. It’s the first one, so I’ll probably be doing more. And as a challenge for any future lists, I’ll only add what I DON’T have on these
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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