A few days ago I saw some of my favorite authors in one frame, and I thought, hey. I want to listen to this. It was the Reverie Publishers panel refereed by Safinah Danish Elahi in the Ananke Women’s Literary Festival, Day 2, today. She talked to Moni Mohsin, Osman Haneef and Zain Saeed for 50 minutes.

Among their topics were their publishing experiences, what young writers are (and should be) writing about, writing from perspectives different than your own, what makes a good novel, and having a reading community.

Here are my favorite parts from (and thoughts on) the panel:

  • Zain being self-deprecating about the happy accidents that led to his becoming a writer, and how MFAs are something that only a certain type of people get something out of – for him it was time to write, and validation. Points for honesty.
  • Zain talking about when Glimmer Train (wow, by the way!) wanted to pay him for a story he wrote and he thought, why do you want to pay me for a stupid story I wrote?
  • Moni Mohsin in her infinite wisdom: “I am very hesitant to tell people what to write about. I think everyone must write about what they feel they want to say. If I have to give any advice it would be follow your own joy. That’s how you reach out to people because joy is infectious.”
  • Zain (who teaches literature): My students inevitably start by writing about a story with an Elizabeth or a George in New York. Once they start writing what they know their writing improves.
  • Zain Saeed hates the phrase ‘Speak your truth’. Why, Zain? I mean, I know, but still. Why?
  • Osman Haneef on writing from a different perspective: “It’s important to have three dimensional characters…as is having a diverse group of alpha readers so if something doesn’t ring true they can tell you.”
  • Moni Mohsin: “As long as you can get under people’s skin, and as long as you don’t presume to speak for someone else, you can write from different perspectives” (Mohsin is lovely. I’m just sayin’. All humbleness and grace.)
  • Zain Saeed’s idea of a good novel: “Something that makes me feel strongly. I may not remember what happened or the characters but I remember how they made me feel.”
  • Moni Mohsin: “You can tell something is great when you read it. I love novels set in places I don’t know much about. It lets me look into the mind of someone I didn’t appreciate before.
    (If she was a publisher I’d camp outside her house until she published my B & T, I’m not ashamed to say. No I wouldn’t. I’m not advocating stalking.)
  • Random thought: Here’s what the panel should’ve done: blind responses. Don’t let the authors hear each others’ responses so they come in with a fresh perspective! Then again, that’s just my amateur mind speaking.
  • Zain, on MFA programs: “They get a lot of applications and unless you’re a South Asian writer writing about (quoting Mohsin) ‘really deep stuff’ you’re not going to get in. That story about the mermaid on Keamari is not going to get in. (Where can I read about the mermaid on Keamari?)
  • Osman: “It is a lot of work to be a reader, especially of first drafts. Sometimes they’re too close to it. You don’t want people to change it, you just want them to tell you how it’s landing”. THIS.

Written by : raaziasajid

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