Tuesday 20 June 2017

Author Feature | Anam Iqbal on The Whyte Divide


A special book came out into the world in April this year. Not only is The Whyte Divide a young adult, crime-romance novel but it is a saga involving betrayal, tests of loyalty, lust and loss, bonds of friendship, young love and romance. Nineteen year old Leonardo Whyte, one of the Whyte Brotherhood's best assassins, is on a mission to avenge his father's murder until he meets the daughter of his sworn enemy and must decide his own future. I'm passing the reigns over to Anam Iqbal today to talk about her inspiration behind the world of The Whyte Divide and her journey of becoming a published author as a person of colour:

My love of writing stemmed from freedom.

As a child, I was incredibly shy and often struggled to voice my thoughts and opinions: they would either stay buried deep inside or expressed on the pages of diaries. When I wrote, it felt like magic, like anything was possible and not a single dream was out of my reach, like I could express whatever I wished without any judgment at all. It was simply freedom.

However I’d never thought about sharing my work with people: my writing was always a grave secret, one that I guarded fiercely and kept ever hidden; my heart would shudder at the mere thought of someone reading my work over my shoulder. It wasn’t until the age of seventeen that I reflected on this secrecy and tried to understand why I was so reluctant to allow any light to shine on my creativity.

It was then that I realised I had never before read a book by someone of colour, someone of a non-white background, someone who wrote about non-white characters. And because of that, I’d simply begun to believe that people of my background, skin colour and religion didn’t write books, didn’t exist in epic stories and that my work could never be good enough to be published.

That was a turning point for me: the realisation that there were such self-doubts, negative thoughts, fears and stereotypical views about my own identity holding me back from achieving my dream – which was, in fact, to one day write something adventurous, rich and beautiful and share it with the world. It was thus at the age of seventeen that I decided to write my first novel. I was doing my A Levels at a London college at the time and was inspired, on a bus ride home, with the idea for The Whyte Divide, a Crime Romance novel. It was a stressful year with plenty of essays, revision and workload, and the gangster love story in my mind became an escapism for me.

I spent the next few years writing about the intense, riveting, sexy and dangerous characters in my mind. I carved out their features, personalities and ambitions on the notes app in my mobile, in my diary or on the sides of lecture notes at university. And when I was unable to do any of these things because of my hectic life as a student, I simply daydreamed of Leonardo Whyte's scheming smirks, Eleanor Archer's skill with blades, Faith Hunter's fierce female strength and Denzel Whyte's ruthlessness as London's most powerful drug lord. 

Through the diverse characters in my novel, I was able to express so many of my own thoughts as well as those I’d heard from the mouths of others: moral dilemmas, social pressures, alienation, the desire for an epic young love, the longing to discover truths, the reality of living in a diverse world, and most of all the thrill of going on an adventure… After eight years and much editing – which included writing the entire novel from scratch four times! – it was finally published and made available to the world. It was truly a dream come true: a dream that required a lot of hard work, patience and – perhaps most importantly – self-belief.

There are certain writing tips I’ve picked up from my experience of completing and publishing my debut novel, and I’d love to share them with other writers:
  • Draft the story in as much detail as you can before you start writing. Having a solid draft of where the story is heading will give you the motivation to keep going and it also means less rewriting ahead!
  • Plot your story without fear. The fear of being judged will limit your creativity and may even lead to Writer’s Block! And even if you find a way to continue writing, fear will distort your character’s voice and make it inauthentic. Therefore stay away from any negative, judgmental energy (or thoughts) whilst writing. Find a positive writing space for yourself – this is very personal, and can be absolutely anywhere!
  • Start writing. Sometimes you have to do this even when you don’t feel ready, or else you’ll never start. You can always edit a bad page but you can’t edit a blank page.
  • Don’t get bogged down in the editing process as you write. It will slow you down a lot. You can always go back to edit later. Separate the process of writing and editing into two different stages. (The editing process itself is lengthy and most writers have extensive re-writing in store for themselves, so keep that in mind as well. Completing the first draft by no means indicates that your work is done!).
  • Set yourself a target of how much writing you wish to do everyday, and monitor yourself to achieve it. If you write based on whim alone, chances are you’ll never complete your novel! The truth is that completing a manuscript is painstakingly hard work and requires dedication: sparks of inspiration or your burning passion to write won’t always be there to accompany you. (The final draft of The Whyte Divide was 170,000 words and I had to ensure that I worked on it consistently everyday for a year in order to complete it).
  • Work hard but also be kind to yourself. Remember to set yourself realistic writing targets because if you don’t, you are only setting yourself up to fail, which will lead onto negative thoughts and feelings of failure. Keeping a positive outlook is perhaps the MOST IMPORTANT thing to keep you going. And whenever you do finish a chapter or section you had planned to, treat yourself and be proud of your work!
  • Self-belief. Whilst writing a book, you will undoubtedly experience many highs and lows. Some days, you’ll think that your novel is surely a unique and compelling masterpiece; other days, you’ll feel that you’re wasting your time on writing a pile of rubbish that no one would ever want to read. And it doesn’t get much easier when a writer completes their manuscript, for most writers experience abundant rejections from literary agents and publishers, who are simply in a highly competitive business. But it is important to never lose hope. Never stop believing in the beauty and power of your words. Writing is deeply subjective, and there will always be someone out there in the world who resonates with your work. Who knows, next time it could be the perfect literary agent for you, or you could self-publish your novel to find a large online readership that was just waiting for something your novel delivered!
  • Never stop dreaming. Your manuscript’s every sentence can be stunning and lyrical, but it won’t mean anything if your story has no heart. Dreaming is the secret ingredient to bring life into your writing. Dream both while you sleep and are awake. Experience as much as possible, speak to abundant people, read widely, do strange things, love deeply, feel openly, let your imagination run without bounds. And it is through these experiences that you will breathe life into your characters and their journey.

It requires a lot of hard work to write a book – and writers do it without any knowledge of whether they’ll ever get any compensation for their time and effort. But most writers don’t write with the thought of what they’ll get in return, they write because they feel a burning sensation within themselves pushing them to write, and when they ignore it, they feel it nagging at them until they pick up their pens. In my opinion that is all you need to call yourself a writer – to feel that nagging sensation. Give in to it, and I promise it will be worth it in the end. 

It is such a beautiful feeling to be here now, so many years later, as an adult, when my novel is published. Now, I am able to turn back to the seventeen-year-old girl that I was, who had dreamed of writing a book some day, and tell her that I made it, that I didn't give up, that I managed to ignore all the voices that told me I couldn't do it (including my own at times), that I pulled through all the lonely nights writing and busy days editing all for her: the teenager who once sat on the top deck of one of London's famous red buses, on her way home from a long day at college, when her wild imagination took her somewhere else entirely...

Anam Iqbal

The Whyte Divide is available to order from Amazon now. 

Tuesday 6 June 2017

The Lines We Cross in Ten Powerful Quotes


You might have heard that Randa Abdel-Fatah came out with a new book in May 2017. I positively squealed. But that's because I had read her previous book, Does My Head Look Big in This? nine years ago about an Australian Muslim teenager who decides to wear hijab to school. It was amazing but I hadn't read anything by Randa since. Until The Lines We Cross came along.

Randa's new young adult novel is about two teenagers on opposing sides of the immigration conflict in Australia. Michael's parents are part of Aussie Values - an anti-immigration group - whilst Mina's family have fled their besieged home in Afghanistan. As the group's importance grows in Australia, lines are drawn and both must decide what matters most.

I absolutely enjoyed this quick read. The humour aimed at misguided characters and time spent on exploring some serious stereotypes and issues surrounding terrorism, the hijab, refugees to name a few complimented each other to make The Lines We Cross a highly topical book that everyone needs to read now. Below are some of my favourite quotes drawn from the book that either had me furiously nodding away in agreement or made my heart lurch in sympathy and sadness:

Kahn’s carrying a spade in one hand and a sign in the other: Start Calling a Spade a Spade: Islam = Terror. Andrew’s dressed as a Spartan guard, carrying a shield and sign that says: Democracy Started in Greece: Protect Our Democracy. p. 2

~

Paula huffs with indignation. “So Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, bombs on Afghan weddings and parties, CIA torture, drones, white phosphorous–all wonderful examples of civilized behavior, right?” p. 33

~

Mum lets out an exasperated sigh. “That’s half the problem though, isn’t it? When my parents came here they got called poms, so they made sure us kids fit in.” She raises her eyes to the ceiling. “You can’t wear the hijab, get a negative reaction, and then complain. You have to take responsibility for yourself and think: How are people going to treat me? Am I inviting trouble?” She shakes her head sadly. p. 20-21

~

Maybe you only get one chance at meeting somebody who really gets inside you, wakes corners of your mind and heart that you didn't know were asleep. p. 272

~

“You know what the trick is?” she says when we hear the bell ring and reluctantly rise and make our way to home-room. “Learning that it can’t always be about them. Sometimes, maybe even most times, you fight back. But sometimes you can end up dignifying their arguments when you defend yourself. And even if you’re in the right, it’s exhausting to live your life in constant resistance. You have to keep a space to yourself, Mina, a space where they don’t exist." p. 144

~

“Dad says Muslims are violent. So of course he should be scared. But you know, our bird was run over by a car in our street last year. Death is everywhere, not just in Iraq.” p. 72

~

Was part of our contract here in this country that we should be walking around depressed and broken? Wearing our trauma on the outside? And what about everybody we’d left dead or living in fear back home? Didn’t we owe them? How could I just lead this ordinary life? p. 174

~

“Because there’s a dominant culture, Michael,” Dad explains. “We’re an Anglo nation based on Judeo-Christian values. People are free to practice their culture and religion so long as it doesn’t undermine the foundational identity of this country.” p. 162

~

There’s a lot of ugliness under this sky. But there’s plenty of beauty here too. I want to find it, spread it around, all over the cruelty and injustice. I want to shake this world like a can of soda, pop the lid, and watch the bubbles explode. Join a revolution to do nothing less than change the world. p. 375

~

“It’s like all these nameless, faceless people get killed all around the world everyday amd nobody gives a shit because they’re not Aussie or American or French, you know what I mean? It’s like dying and getting killed is just something people like us do. It doesn’t shock anybody. If we live, then people are surprised.” p. 287

Hopefully, from just these quotes, you can see how well written The Lines We Cross. It serves a great read in today's political climate whilst still being entertaining as you gush about young love. 


Will you pick up The Lines We Cross? Have you read similar books that you can recommend? ~