Writer

How was your path becoming a writer/editor?

It was and definitely still is “the path less traveled by.” In my immediate family everyone pursued medicine/sciences, and in the Muslim community as a whole, choosing to study in Humanities is asking to stick out, as we are generally expected by our culture and parents to be doctors, engineers, or lawyers. I can’t recall the amount of times people asked if I wanted to be a teacher just because I was studying English. It was exhausting to constantly correct them.

Choosing this path was difficult and daunting, but that made it all the more rewarding. I had no mentors who trod this path before me that could help me along the way. I had to figure it out on my own until I finally found like-minded people who had similar dreams in various programs throughout my education. And this path is never-ending. Every writer works at their own pace, but I’ve had to work my way through trial and error, whether in my writing or career to get where I am now.

Did you face any struggles being a Muslim woman in this field?

Thankfully I’ve never faced any discrimination as a Muslim woman in this field. However, I do always stand out and sometimes there are expectations of what you “should be writing” that I’ve always defied by focusing heavily on fantasy as a writer. When I one day get published Insha’Allah, I don’t want to be walled in by what I can and can’t write by choosing what would easily be published nowadays as a POC and religious minority (i.e., stories that revolve around contemporary Arab lives, etc.). Of course, there is nothing wrong with these types of stories, but it’s just not my immediate cup of tea.

What’s your favorite thing about being Muslim?

It’s hard to sum up into one thing, but I would say one of them is knowing that God is your constant companion no matter how difficult life gets. That there will always be ease even during the hardest of times.

If somebody wants to be an editor/writer when they grow up, what should they do?

There is no one way to become an editor/writer, but there is one central piece of advice: Read. Read. Read.

If you can give any advice to young Muslim girls/teens, what would you tell them?

Dream big. Don’t ever let anyone tell you what you can or cannot reach for.

Twitter: @ymedhkour