This interview with Ali Al Saeed was first published in April 2006. To
find out more about the author, you can visit our
Ali Al Saeed page.
Where were you born and raised?
I was born on the isle of Muharraq, the old capital of the Kingdom of Bahrain
on February 16, 1978. I was raised in that little Arabian gulf island in a
small suburban house with my six brothers and sisters, and my parents.
One of my distinctive childhood memories is my parents taking
us to Dairy Queen on a Thursday night. That and being knocked on the head by a
bit of brick falling from the sky!
What was it that first got you into writing and when did
you start writing?
I just felt the urge to do so. Writing was my friend when
I needed one. It never let me down. You could say that writing has been my best
friend. I started writing fiction seriously about eight years ago. But I wrote
my very first story at the age of 10. It was actually a Sci-Fi comic book
called "Equlizer1". Maybe one day I’ll publish it!
Which writers have influenced you the most?
In my case, it was the one writer. Neil Gaiman. I was
introduced to him by a friend. When he first told me about his Sandman comic
books (known today as graphic novels), I kind of shrugged. But I was hooked
from the first line.
Reading the Sandman altered my life in ways I never thought
literature can. But I found in Gaiman’s novels and stories something I could
relate to and understand.
Where do you stand on the nature v. nurture debate? Were you
born a writer, or were there factors in your environment that enabled you to
become a writer?
The way I see it is yes you are born with it, some more than
others, and if you don’t have it, you can’t manufacture it. But it depends on
those who see the signs and capitalise on them. Some of those who have it in
them, never realise it and it goes to waste.
The important thing is to have the self belief that this is
what you are meant to do and accepting it and to have the passion for it. If
you are in it for any other reason than that, well, all I can say is good luck.
There are a lot of courses teaching creative writing
nowadays, but do you think that good writing can be taught?
It can’t. Not unless you have the basics within you
already. If you have the elements, the skills and talent, you can reinforce it
by learning more about the creative process and technical side of it. Having
said that, I’m a high school graduate and I never took any creative writing
courses. Whatever you get from these courses, you can get from writing and reading
on your own. Practise is the key.
Have you entered writing competitions? If so, have you won
any prizes?
Last year, I received the Bahraini Outstanding Book of the
Year Award for my debut novel, "QuixotiQ", which was the first novel
written by a Bahraini national in English. The award was given by the country’s
Arts & Culture council.
I also recently won the first prize in the ‘Short Not Sweet’
competition, organised by Australian e-publisher RSPublishing, for my story
"Newton’s Hope". Two of my short stories – "The Red Hand of
Ottoman" and "The Purple Rose" – were finalists in the Glimmer
Train Press awards for short fiction.
Do you have any short stories or poems published online?
(If so, please provide the URLs):
"Flying Fate" at Expose’d (http://www.exposweb.net/Short%20Stories/Ali%20Al%20Saeed/AAS_ShortStoryLayout.htm)
"Empty Spaces" at The New England Rouge Journal (http://www.theroguejournal.com/fiction/empty_spaces.html)
"Moments’" at Fictionline.net (http://www.fictionline.net/moments.htm)
What kind of things do you write?
Just about everything and anything I feel like writing, if
you are talking in terms of genre and medium. I write novels, short stories,
novellas, poems, songs, essays, musings, etc. I think I enjoy the short story
the most though, because I feel it suits my creativity, imagination and
impatience!
When we are talking genres, I bring everything to the table.
You name it, I write it. Thriller, mystery, literary, humour, children’s… for
some reason though I tend mostly to lean to writing more fantasy (or what is
today known as speculative fiction) than anything else.
What, for you, is the best piece of prose that you have
ever written?
I don’t think I’ve written it yet!
What are you working on now?
I just finished a sort of non-fiction, biographic, visual-film
companion book called "Models of Success: The Journey", which will be
published by the end of the month.
My next book will be a collection of short stories entitled
"Moments" that contains 21 stories celebrating the variety of moments
we
experience, the surreal, the dreamy, the hard-hitting, the
life-changing and the fantastical.
I am also in the process of writing two novels, a murder
mystery set in the backdrop of a sleepy small town in the English Countryside.
The
second novel is about an ex-terrorist trying to rebuild a new
life in the suburbs.
What is your writing day like?
Sporadic, inconsistent; almost non existent actually! No,
I write in spurts. I tend to wait for it to come rather then force it. I’m just
not that kind
of writer. Some writers can churn out stories even if they
don’t feel strongly about. I don’t write for the sake of it, I write when it
feels right.
Where would you like to be in 10 years time?
Honestly, I haven’t got a clue. But wherever it would be,
I would like to be able to continue what I love and enjoy doing, a place where
I feel comfortable content at.
It would also be nice if Earth was still in once piece.
What’s the most exciting thing about writing for you?
The moment a new idea is conceived. I get high on it! It’s
such a thrill when suddenly you find this strange thing begin to formulate into
an entity in your head.
Then the tedious, gruelling task of turning that idea into
beautiful, coherent lines of words begins…
What’s the most frustrating thing about writing for you?
When I reach the last third of a story/novel. With me, I
always seem to get stuck when I arrive at that stage wherein I’ve completed two
thirds of a project and now was struggling to, as they say, ‘bring it home’!
Some say starting a novel or story is the hardest part. Well, try finishing
one.
What’s the best piece of feedback that you’ve had from your
audience?
That they couldn’t put my book down, and that they felt
they could relate and identify with my characters. Which came as a big relief
as I felt that characterisation was one of my weakest points.
Do you write for a particular audience, or is your first
priority to satisfy your own creativity?
I would have to say the latter. And I would like to think,
as in the case with my collection "Moments", that I can cater to
every kind of reader. I wouldn’t like to restrict myself to cater for one
particular audience.
Do you have a homepage? If so, what’s the URL?
My website is at www.alialsaeed.com
but I also keep a blog that I update regularly at www.quixotiq-writings.blogspot.com
