Hi friends,

The thing about writing—and really, anything we pursue—is that it all comes down to taking it one day at a time.

Ten years ago, I couldn’t have imagined seeing one of my stories published online, reading my own voice on a screen with my name next to it. Now, I it’s hard to picture the day when I’ll hold a 300 page book with my name on the cover. But I know this: the more days I sit down to write, the closer that moment will come.

Do I write for that moment? Not exactly. Sure, I want to publish books—that’s one of my goals, and I’ll do what I can to get there. But when I think about why I write, it’s always something more personal and a little cliche.

I write because I love reading about Yemen and the Muslim experience. And my hope is that there are others who will enjoy these stories as much as I do. So i get the stories right, then the readers will follow. If they don’t I’ll still have the stories, and isn’t that one of the most valuable things we have?

Small step at a time, that’s what it takes.

Until next time,

—MM

📖 Books I’m reading?

I’m reading an Arabic book by one of the best Yemeni writers, Mohammad Abdul-Wali. I have his collected works, and I’m starting with the short stories before diving into his longer pieces. There’s a translation of some of his short stories and a popular novella called They Die Strangers (what a lovely and sad title). His stories focus on exile and reflect his own experience of being “caught between cultures by displacement from civil war and labor migration.”

💎 New From Me

I posted a video on my experience and thoughts on writer’s block. Maybe it’ll help you if you’re struggling. My current challenge isn’t the inability to write, but rather finding the time and energy to do it.

🔖 Quote I’m pondering

“Always demand a deadline because it weeds out the extraneous and the ordinary. A deadline prevents you from truing to make it perfect so you have to make it different. Different is better.”

— Kevin Kelly

Source: Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I'd Known Earlier

📸 Through My Lens

Please give me feedback on the newsletter by replying to this email. Do you find it worth your time? What do you want more or less of? Or other suggestions?

Thank you for reading!

Mohamed