by Ayesha Ali | Dec 10, 2024 | Character, Writing Craft
In Western countries, December is the month of holidays. When I think about winter holidays, I think about movement—people driving across county lines to visit family, religious historical figures migrating to make change, new holidays moving into public...
by Ayesha Ali | Oct 15, 2024 | The Writing Life
Whenever I pick up a book or sit down to watch a movie, my brain splits into two realms of consciousness. One is my artist self: the person who picks apart the story, analyzes how successful each piece is, and sometimes comes up with how to improve it. The other is my...
by Ayesha Ali | Sep 10, 2024 | Writing Craft
Having a choice is really important to us in our every day life. We want the freedom to choose what we do, where we go, who our friends are. But when it comes to writing stories, it’s very tempting to sacrifice that power of choice in favor of possibility. The...
by Ayesha Ali | Aug 13, 2024 | Plot, Uncategorized, Writing Craft
As a lover of SFF, I’m a big fan of what I call “action plot.” To me, a story isn’t complete without a good fight with the fate of the world, or at least a community, on the line. When I started writing, I was ready to translate what I consumed...
by Ayesha Ali | Jul 9, 2024 | Character, First Chapters, Uncategorized, Writing Craft
As a new writer, much of the advice I came across from experts didn’t make sense to me. I didn’t see the point in detailing the items on my character’s bedside table, or planning the entire schedule of my teenage characters’ school day, and I...
