So remember when I recently posted about my intense and crippling fear of failure? About how I am so scared of failing at all the things I love that I don’t even bother trying anyways? Well, I ended up taking a leap and a risk!

I recently started posting one of my original stories on my other blog.

So how it came about is that my husband and I watched The Martian a few weeks ago, and it got me thinking about a lot of things. But the most interesting thing it sparked had to do with the movie’s conception. The movie is, of course, based on a popular book by the same name, but before it was a book, The Martian was a serial story on the author’s blog. The author would write and post a chapter every week on his blog, and it eventually grew in popularity. He eventually published it as an Amazon e-book, and then it got made into a hardcover book, and then of course it got made into a movie! I mentioned this to my husband and he encouraged me to share my story in the same way. He knew of my frustration with the lack of response I’d gotten from agents, and suggested that I should start posting my fiction on my other blog, chapter by chapter.

So initially, I was scared to death of this idea and shot it down immediately. How could I possibly share my work online? What if someone stole it? And more importantly, what if people hated it? If you’ve ever written anything, you know what a big deal it is to share it with another person, let alone share it on the internet. It’s like putting your baby out into the world and expecting people not to judge it. It’s a frightening prospect.

But slowly I began warming up to the idea, since as everyone kept telling me, what did I have to lose? So finally, almost three weeks ago, I posted the first chapter. Ever single time my phone vibrated with an email, my hands would be shaking to see if someone, anyone, had commented on the story.

The first chapter didn’t get many hits and maybe only one comment initially (from my best friend), but I was still happy to see that people were reading it. It was only after I posted the second chapter did the story get even more comments, and then even more with the third.

The past three weeks have been exhilarating; I still can’t believe that there are people I both know and don’t know out there in the world who are reading my words and liking them. It’s a scary feeling, but one that is slowly disappearing after every comment I read that tells me how much a young girl relates to my characters and loves the story. It’s just so gratifying 🙂

I try not to have any expectations for it. I already know that publishing stories like Harry Potter, Twilight, etc. are the exceptions, and not the rules, and that it’s very possible that nothing will come of this. It’s possible that a handful of girls on the internet will enjoy the story while it’s being posted, and then it’ll disappear into the abyss, like so many things, when it’s over. (Not trying to be a pessimist here, just a realist.) But it’s still so amazing to share the story with people and have people relate to it and enjoy it. That’s why I wrote it. And while it’s still my dream to hold a physical copy in my hands one day, I’ve decided to be happy with this. Because it’s a step.

If you’re on my personal Facebook, you’ve probably already seen me posting the links. But I wanted to share it here as well, in case any of you were interested in reading it. It’s my dream, it’s my baby, it’s everything I’ve been working for since I was ten years old. 🙂

You can check it out here if you’re so inclined . And here’s a brief synopsis to tell you what it’s about:

Twenty-two year old Aisha Ali is a firm believer in arranged marriages. In fact, she believes in them so strongly that she matches people up for a living at The Islamic Marriage Bureau. But one day, when Adam Swift, a recent Muslim convert from Toronto, comes to small Windsor Bay, Aisha’s views on men and marriage get shaken up.

Thanks for reading,

Ikhlas