How many Inkwells?
I was wondering...how many out there are a 'jack of all trades' type of writer? I mean...how many inkwells do you have your pen into? Are you more of a specialist type, concentrating mainly and basically on one type of writing, or do you delve into many various aspects of the business, gaining experience and knowledge from here there, and everywhere?
I like to write many types of things.
I like writing on this blog, as well as my own blog, although admittedly not so regularly as here and in other discussion groups. I have delved into basic essay-style writing, which can get to be rather preachy sometimes, of course depending upon the subject matter. And then, there is the more personal journal-type writing of momentos and memoirs.
What I have found I enjoy the best is fiction. Actually, I have tagged onto it my own 'specialist' label: "fictitious non-fiction". Still trying to promote that one. What I mean by that is I take stories of accurate historic account. Some of them may be from the far past, such as from the time of prophet Mohammed (SAAW) and his companions or their followers, whereas others may be of the more recent past & even present. That is the non-fiction part. The stories themselves are true. Or at least the story line itself, or the moral of the story. But then I give it my own twist, or 'spin', if you will. I give the characters names and even families, if the need arises. I give them a background of what their life has been, where they live, ages, etc. I then give them some dialogue, to liven up the story. That is the fictitious part. Hence, the label division: "fictitious non-fiction". Interesting, eh? Well, at least it is to me.
I also like to play around with poetry. No specialist there..just like playing around with it from time to time. Get that from dear ol' Dad. He was a famous poet in our family. Even made his own collection out of his experiences on one of his visits to Saudi Arabia. Culture shock and all that. Hope to get his collection altogether and publish it sometime, in remembrance of him and his travels and his experiences.
Oh, yea...almost forgot...I edit also. Have done quite a few editing jobs. Started from some jobs forwarded on to me from our local chapter of Islamic dawa and propagation office. Have just worked upwards from there.
So, what do all of you out there do? Are you a specialist in any one particular aspect of the writing industry? Or do you like to tip your pen into various inkwells, as myself and many others?
Waiting for your input.
Balqees.
'How many Inkwells?' was posted on July 5, 2008 by Balqees Mohammed under Random Ramblings , and tagged with writers
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3 Comments
Salaams
I read Sister Balquees' article with interest and some misgivings! My misgivings focus on her labeling Islamic Fiction as "ficticious non-fiction."
Myself and other authors and writers of Islamic Fiction novels have been struggeling for years to gain acknowledgment from the Muslim ummah for fiction writing and acceptance of Islamic Fiction novels.
About two years ago the Islamic Writers Alliance (a professional-International Muslim organization) and I spent months dicussing, debating and eventually defining and labeling fiction works written by Muslims as Islamic Fiction when the writing meets specific criteria. You can read about this at the website I created at www.IslamicFictionBooks.com.
Other Muslim writers/authors are trying to define fiction written by Muslims... some labeling it Muslim fiction...but all fiction written by Muslims is Muslim fiction while Islamic Fiction has specific elements present in the works and specific content not present in the works which set them apart from just any Muslim authored fiction and therefore requiring a different label than Muslim fiction or a simple description such as fiction novels written by Muslims.
It is my opinion (and the opinion of Muslims familiar with Islamic Fiction novels) that Islamic Fiction stories are superior to the fiction books authored by Muslims that do not meet the high standards of Islamic Fiction.
I believe very strong about this and even had emblems created for Islamic Fiction reading levels which a reader will find on the back cover of any IF book I publish for myself or other authors.
Acceptance of IF novels has increased since I first began as a writer of IF in 2001. It will be many more years before fiction and more specifically Islamic Fiction will be a common literary genre/category in the Muslim book industry! I hope that the label Islamic Fiction will continue to become recognized and used by Muslim writers, publishers, retailers, and readers.
Sincerely,
Linda Delgado, publisher
Muslim Writers Publishing
AsSalaamu alaikum!
I have a difficult time balancing the time I spend on editing projects, my own blogs, etc. and the time I spend actually working on my books. It's hard to make the transition to writing as something you do when you can squeeze it in and writing as what you do primarily, meaning you have to be more disciplined about the time you spend doing it.
WaSalaam,
Najiyah
Assalamualaikum,
Like sister Najiyyah I am struggling juggling my time between blog updating (I have several including group blogs I contribute to), freelancing and writing CNF for submissions in various places. I also write poetry and fiction but not at the moment. I don't know if I would consider myself a jack of all trades, but I have certainly tried fiction, poetry, creative non fiction, children's fiction, children's non fiction. I do find that some genres are more natural and easy for me (creative non fiction), so while I struggle to find time to write, I now focus on creative non fiction (blogging serves that really well), though I would actually love to work in thechildren's fiction/non fiction genres.