ABOUT

Tell us who you are!

I’m Suad Kamardeen, a 26-year old writer, educator and hobbyist programmer.

I’m currently self-employed, so I distribute my time between writing, programming and tutoring. I also volunteer as an Engagement Lead for a non-profit organisation.

So what do you actually do?

I’m currently working on two novels, a young adult and an adult, so my day to day is heavy on writing, and sometimes meetings with an editor or my mentor.

I also work as a private tutor on a part-time basis, and this takes up my evenings.

What has your career path been?

As someone with varying interests, my career trajectory has been wild. I’ve been writing from a very young age with the dream of becoming an author, but I parked that dream to the side eventually.

In 2018, I graduated from the University of Birmingham with a 1st in Chemical Engineering, so there was the expectation that I’ll go straight to working. However, I didn’t enjoy my degree, no matter how much effort I put in, so I definitely didn’t want a career path in Chemical Engineering.

I completed a year of industrial placement after my second year to give me time to figure out what I really wanted to do. It was in this year, I rediscovered my love for writing and completed the first draft of my young adult novel.

That experience made me realise there are so many paths out there to choose, and I can carve my own path too. It was also during this time, I discovered my interests in education (particularly pedagogy) and psychology.

I applied for a Masters in Creative Writing at Oxford University, and was granted admission. However, I didn’t want to take out student loans and I struggled to find other means of funding so I didn’t end up pursuing the degree. I never stopped writing though. I built out a regular routine for myself and started working on an adult novel.

Due to health reasons, I moved to Lisbon in January 2019 where I lived for eight months. I worked as a customer service representative, but I also spent the morning hours writing, and the evening completing an online course in psychology. I also started learning to code at this time.

At the end of July 2019, I came across a new university in Berlin with an intriguing learning style: project-based learning. Each semester, students begin with a problem they want to solve, and work individually on in groups to create a solution to the problem.

Their learnings are based on the tools needed to aid their solution. I applied for a Bachelors in Software Engineering, more due to my interest in the education system than the course itself. After a two-day interview in mid-August, I moved to Berlin at the end of August to begin this course. I paused my Psychology studies, but my writing routine remained the same—two hours every morning dedicated to the second draft of my adult novel.

I juggled studying full-time with working part-time and writing. But when life got busy, writing was usually put aside, because I struggle with creative writing when I’m overwhelmed. This led me to re-evaluate the trajectory of my life. Writing is something I’m certain I want to do, and I needed to figure out a way to prioritise it better.

Throughout this time, my writing had been a solitary practice. I shared it with a few close friends and family but nothing beyond that. When the pandemic hit, I stumbled on a writing workshop ran by Words of Colours and hosted by Patrice Lawrence.

This was an eye-opening experience for me because it was the first time I was surrounded by other writers. One of the advice given was joining twitter because several writing opportunities are advertised there. I’ve never been a fan of twitter, but taking that advice led to the biggest changes in my writing career.

I tweeted an appreciation to Patrice for the workshop and she retweeted it. Her friend, A. M. Dassu, and now my mentor, replied saying she’s happy to see other Muslim writers and she’s here for me if I need anything. I’m a firm believer that you only get what you have the courage to ask for, so I slid in her DMs and asked for her feedback on the synopsis of my novel.

Since then, she’s played a huge part in the trajectory of my career. She sends me opportunities she comes across, and two of these opportunities led me to where I am. The first, is the All Stories mentorship for children’s writers, where successful applicants are paired with an editor to work with them on their book for six months, and also have the opportunity to attend several webinars hosted by publishing professionals.

I’m currently working with editor, Emma Roberts, on my young adult novel. The second, is mentorship with author, Helen Monks Takhar, for my adult novel. From August 2020 until May 2021, I sent chapters of my novel to her and she provided line by line editorial feedback. We also have regular catchup calls to discuss the feedback and to clarify any questions which arise from the manuscript.

The support of these mentors have led me to be confident enough in my writing to put it out there. In April and May 2021, I submitted excerpts of both of my novels to several competitions and prizes, and the results have been astonishing, as well as huge confidence boosters.

My young adult novel was shortlisted for the FAB Prize 2021 and was one of the Highly Commended texts. My adult novel was also shortlisted for the Stylist Prize for Feminist Fiction 2021.

In May 2021, I also made the huge decision to end my studies in Berlin and move back to the UK. I want to give my writing career a shot, which for me, means dedicating more time to it.

I’m working part-time as well as on a freelance basis for financial sustenance, but my writing comes first. This wasn’t an easy decision to make, but I only have one life to live, and I want to ensure I’m living it on my terms.

What is the best part of your job?

I love that I’m living my dream to a large extent. I also love the freedom of being able to create my own schedule.

Why do you do your job?

To paraphrase Toni Morrison, I’m writing the books I want to read. My desire to write is innate, but it’s also driven by my motivation to impact people’s lives positively through storytelling.

I hope to show Black girls, Muslim girls and assault survivors that they are not alone in their stories, and to show the rest of the world there are so many different ways in which people live their lives.

One piece of advice for someone starting in your role?

Believe in yourself, believe in your work and always put yourself out there. Feedback and criticism do not indicate a deficiency in YOU, it just highlights parts of the work that YOU are capable of improving.

I say this because writing can be a lonely endeavour, and most of the time you have to be your biggest cheerleader. Also, there are more and more opportunities opening up for emerging / beginner writers but it requires you to be brave enough to submit your work for others’ critique. With that being said, you don’t have to do this alone. Try to seek out in-person or virtual writing groups.

Also, don’t be afraid to seek out other forms of employment to financially sustain yourself. I recently met an author, who’s currently working on her third book, and she shared with me that having run out the payment from her previous two books, she’s taking up freelance work to hold herself until the next payment comes in. That was an eye-opener for me. So, don’t be afraid to use other skills you have, including your writing to secure jobs to keep yourself afloat (and enjoy life).

Any parting words?

Put yourself first, it’s your life.

There are several people who say my decision to focus on writing makes no sense to them, and that’s okay, because it makes sense to me.

Check out Suad’s socials below!

DAY IN THE LIFE

I’m usually a morning person, but I’m trying to train my body to get used to working even after dark (winter struggles), so my schedule is a bit different.

I split my day into three chunks: late morning, afternoons and evenings.

I’ll start with the evenings: I tutor twice a week from 5-6:30 pm, and when I’m not tutoring I spend the time catching up with family and friends or on a programming project.

Then, I sit at my desk at about 7 pm to write from 7:30-10:30 pm. From 10:30-11:30 pm, I work on another writing project which is currently in idea forming and information gathering phase. I love the quiet of the night, and I get a lot done during this time. I’m usually in bed at midnight, but I read for about thirty minutes to an hour before eventually falling asleep.

On days when I struggle with creative writing, I draft a post for my personal blog. Sometimes that helps me get out the rut I’m stuck in. Other times, I call it a day a bit earlier because rest makes a world of a difference.

Due to my writing schedule, my morning officially begins at 10. The first hour or two is spent on admin: emails, scheduling meetings etc. I meet with my editor or mentor for about an hour (sometimes longer) discussing feedback on whatever work I’ve sent in. I enjoy these discussions because it’s mainly the editor asking questions to help you dig deeper into the motivations behind your characters’ actions, or decisions made in the way the story is told.

Sometimes it’s about understanding the family and cultural dynamics better, ensuring I’m keeping in mind that I’m writing for a bigger audience while staying as true to the character as possible.

The editing process can either be structural or line editing (there’s copy editing too, but I’ve not had experience with that yet). With structural editing the focus is on the big picture of the book, chapters and scenes. My editor may point out something about the choreography of a scene (how events play out) and we’ll try to work through it together to a point where it’s realistic.

Whereas with line editing, it’s the nitty gritty details of the sentences, word choices, paragraph breakpoints. Usually, I’ll get a detailed note beforehand and some review comments in the actual document. Then we have a call going through major points in the document. 

I thoroughly enjoy the editing process. It’s sometimes painful because with structural edit, for example, I’ve had to re-plot my book three times for several reasons. First time, there were too many major themes competing for the  reader’s attention.

Second time, the story felt forced and so I had a chat with my editor to bounce back ideas and then wrote a third plot. But once I get into a flow, editing isn’t so bad especially because I know the aim is to get my book and writing in the best form.

I take a break at 2:30 pm for a half an hour walk or to sometimes have a chat with my siblings, anything to ensure I take ample time away from my desk. Then, I spend about two hours doing some work for the non-profit I volunteer with. My role is “Engagement Lead” but it’s basically a lot of curating content for the blog and newsletter, proof-reading text and editing blog posts.