Writers' Hotline

No Idea Where to Start...? ~ @umm_hanoon

umm_hanoon is one of the most talented Muslim writers on Wattpad. She's been around for quite a long time. Although she doesn't share her full works anymore, excerpts of her stories are available to be read.

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I will be listing the methods I use for my own writing. Keep in mind that every writer is different as you read them. What I do may not work for you and what you do may not work for me.

1. Title. Finding a title is probably the most difficult aspect of starting a book. Most Muslim writers will settle with something along the lines of "A Muslim ..." or "... of a Muslim" or "... Islam ...," possibly with the intent of changing it to something better when they can think of something.

Avoid this if you can.

Titles with "Muslim" or "Islam" in it are better suited to non-fiction Islamic books. I have not put "Muslim" in any of my book titles - that belongs in the tags, and maybe the description.

How do I come up with a title? I examine my story's theme. I take Muslim out, and I examine all the other elements. Then I choose a title based on one of those elements. Try it, and you may come up with a good title that doesn't have "Muslim" or "Islam" in it.

2. Plot. The first step is forming the basic plot. For this, after some brainstorming and thought, I write out a short summary of the plot, which later becomes the description after some editing, and then I write a synopsis of the story, which I usually use as a guideline to plan the book.

3. Summary. The summary or description of the book is immensely important. This is what draws the readers in or chases them away.

First off, do not give away the whole plot of the book. It must have an air of mystery in it that will make readers want to know what will happen. That is what will tempt them to click and start reading. If you have an essay that explains how they met, how they married, and how many kids they had, that is not going to draw readers very much.

Writing an alluring description is not an easy task. I usually rewrite mine several times before I'm satisfied.

Some pointers to keep in mind are:

(1) Try to keep it as short as possible;

(2) avoid unnecessary details and keep those for the book;

(3) try to put in a mysterious vibe that will make the readers curious enough to look inside.

4. Planning. One of the most major steps of writing a story is planning it out.

In my case, I tend to take my planning very seriously and I plan out the most major details scene by scene, chapter by chapter before I actually write the book.

Planning the story beforehand will help you catch any major inconsistencies and loopholes before you start to write. Plan it in writing, read it over, and then make the changes you need. You don't need to be excessively detailed in the planning as I am, but anything major to the plot should be planned beforehand.

5. Characters. Since characters play a very important part of the story, the formation of the characters is also very important. I make a character list for my story before I start writing. In it, I include the ages, nationality, and physical description of each character, even the insignificant ones that don't make it past chapter 5.