There is perhaps no more exciting month for novel writing than November! Each year, literary enthusiasts around the world celebrate NaNoWriMo, or the National Novel Writing Month, an event that started in the United States but has since spread across the globe, with writers putting pens to paper—and fingers to keyboard—to crank out draft novels at record speed, before the calendar turns to December.
Here at Write the World, we are excited to celebrate November by way of our Novel Writing competition, which invites young writers to create an excerpt of what could one day become a longer work. Below, we spoke with Guest Judge Randa Abdel-Fattah, a prominent academic, human rights advocate, and author, to glean some YA novel writing tips and advice for aspiring novelists. Randa’s young adult novels—such as Does My Head Look Big in This—explore race, religion, and identity and are celebrated around the world. Read on to discover how Randa began her writing career utilizing competitions for young writers; how she continues to find fresh inspiration for her stories; advice for penning a strong novel excerpt; and a peek at the forthcoming projects she has up her sleeve.
Happy writing!
You mention in previous interviews that your decision to become a YA author was a bit of a winding path. Can you please share how you discovered your love of writing, and when/why you chose to pursue it professionally? What about longform writing—writing novels—particularly compelled you?
I discovered my love of writing as a child, through a love of reading. I have vivid memories of going to bookstores and libraries with my mother, who was a teacher, and feeling butterflies in my stomach when surrounded by books. My father would take me to second hand bookstore markets, and we would buy piles of books. I was immersed in reading. I was a dreamer, always narrating stories in my head. Writing them down came naturally to me in the sense that I just felt I was doing what I wanted and needed to do. In Grade 6, I wrote a complete rip-off of Roald Dahl’s ‘Matilda’. It was called ‘Ronald’. I even traced Quentin Blake’s illustrations. My teacher was really impressed and she let me read it in front of the class. I can still really remember that moment, of seeing kids laugh and respond to my writing.
In Year 7, I won a writing competition, and I had a poem published. I continued to enter writing competitions and to write for myself, filling up boxes and folders with stories. I knew since I was a child that I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to write novels because that was the genre I read the most. And I loved the world of young adult fiction—I suppose because there is no other period in your life when you feel as intensely. I mean, love, hate, jealousy, loyalty—I remember the power of these emotions as a teenager, and how navigating questions of identity at the same time was truly terrifying and exhilarating. Writing in that moment of a person’s life has always felt so right to me.
Where did the inspirations for your first book come from? What helped you keep that inspiration alive throughout the lengthy writing, editing, and publishing process?
I wrote the first draft of Does My Head Look Big In This? when I was a teenager, drawing on my own experiences navigating race, religion, and identity as a young Australian Muslim Palestinian Egyptian. When I revisited the manuscript as an adult, I was still drawn to a story narrated by a young person. The world of adolescence was all I was interested in exploring, and I felt even more motivated to write the book given that I was now writing in a post 9-11 world where Islamophobia had escalated and the stakes were higher. I relish the editing and publishing process. It is my favourite part of the entire journey. Editing is an intimate time with the craft of writing, going through each line, assessing the value of each word. I love it.
Our Novel Writing competition asks young writers to pen excerpts of potentially longer projects. What advice do you have for crafting a compelling excerpt? For providing a slice of a more substantive story that still captivates readers as a standalone piece?
Every chapter, every scene, in a novel needs to be able to stand triumphant and compelling in its own right. I don’t mean that a novel is a collection of short story scenes. I mean that every ‘slice’ of a story has to have the elements that make the parts and the whole work. As long as the writers are doing their best with their excerpt—characterisation, setting, language, dialogue, etc.—they need not worry about how the excerpt will fit into a longer piece. They should ask themselves, Is this an interesting scene? Is this a story that offers up more questions than answers? Does it provoke curiosity? Are there stories within stories?
Who are your writing inspirations? Where do you turn for a fresh perspective on the craft?
I read very widely, including a lot of non-fiction given my interests and the work I do. I am always immersed in different forms of expression and language, and this is probably the biggest teaching source for me.
What advice do you have for writers hoping to one day share their works with audiences beyond the Write the World community? When you knew you wanted to publish your work, where did you begin?
It’s never been a better time given there are so many opportunities today to publish one’s work. Look out for writing competitions—not just in your region, but around the world. There are online opportunities and opportunities through local libraries and writer’s centres. Schools are great places to start, as they are often aware of current competitions and will happily help budding writers find the right competition.
What are you currently working on? Any projects you’d like to share?
I’m working on the script for a feature film of Does My Head Look Big In This?, and I’m also working on curating a new children’s book series and contributing one book to the series.
*Photo of Randa courtesy of sbs.com.au
