We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Azra Rahman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Azra, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I love to write, I absolutely do! Out of all the things I could have pursued, I chose writing. Granted, when I started, I didn’t realize the extent of cut-throat competition that is existent in the writing world. It’s been around 7 years since I first started writing as a professional. The journey has been rewarding in many aspects. If I had to sum it up, I would say that my growth has superseded my stagnancy. Yet, when things get tough, when it becomes difficult to connect at a professional level, when the amount of effort and time put into a project isn’t rewarded accordingly, I do sometimes think of giving up or go after a different career path. It is still easy for me to quit. To go back to being a busy homemaker. Or to get into a defined job which pays on a monthly basis. Or to start a business of baked goods for which plenty of people have urged me to. There’s a good possibility that I would do well in these endeavors as well. But the question remains: Who would I be if I quit so easy?
Good things come to those who are patient. Good things come to those who are consistent. Good things come to those who believe. And good things come to those who trust in the Divine plan of the One in Whose hands are the heavens and the earth and everything in between and beyond.
I am forever inspired by these lines:
“…it may be that you hate something when it is good for you and it may be that you love something when it is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know.” (Quran, 2:216)
It is difficult, extremely difficult to keep the flame of passion alive. That by itself is one of the greatest struggles humans face. In my struggle, I have gotten closer to myself, my religion, my loved ones and have managed to identify those loyal friends who have stuck with me through thick and thin.
So, if the question still remains as to why I haven’t quit, the answer is simple.
I can’t. I have taken that option away from myself.
And also because the people who truly believe in me won’t let me quit. Because even on days when I don’t think I deserve the best, they believe I do and push me to trust in myself once more.

Azra, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Azra Rahman and currently I live in Utah with my husband and three children. How did I get into writing? That’s an interesting question.
I was always into writing. I loved to read. Loved to write what I thought. Back in 2015 when my first child was around 6 months of age. I had started what I then called a ‘fun project’ with a friend. Mr. A (my hubby)saw the time and effort I was putting in it. He then proceeded to push me into pursuing writing as a career rather than just another hobby.
Writing led to blogging which led to collaborations with other creatives. I also started freelancing for a brief period of time but stopped in 2020 when I got pregnant with my third baby and my health needed more attention than anything else. But I kept my blogging and collaborations going as much as I could manage without stressing myself out. During this phase, a few of my written works got selected to be published in an anthology. That was a breakthrough!
Sadly, I never went back to freelancing. My personal projects are a priority and any time I get is spent on working towards achieving my self-defined goals.
I have also successfully planned and hosted four events these last two years and am currently a mentor in a local Girls Youth group. Apart from all this, I have also a book in works which will come out some time next year. I am excited, nervous, crazy busy and so looking forward to everything.
And if you are wondering what happened to the ‘fun writing project’ which started this whole landslide…well…it’s not a side project anymore. It has evolved into a trilogy with so much detail into its storyline that as much as I want to, I cannot hurry into finishing it. It requires its own time to process. Regardless, I hope to finish it soon, so it could go to the next stage, and with it, I could too.
My blogs and my Instagram page give the readers a good insight into the kind of writer I am. While most of the stories I write are thrillers and/or deal with mystery/murders; my articles are often a sarcastic, light-hearted take on my daily experiences. Sometimes, I also write from a deeper emotional space or something I observed. There is this one article I wrote a while back, which is my absolute favorite. In it, I described a car ride to a store and what went through my mind in the course of that drive. It is a concise piece, but something which contains an almost accurate depiction of the average working of my mind. My poems on the other hand, are usually micropoetry: a kind of poetry style in which only a few lines, sometimes just a few words, must translate the feeling felt by the poet. It’s challenging but oh-so fun! Almost all of my poems are on my Instagram page. I also paint and am much into art and craft for kids which translated to a quite a few summer activities including community events, but currently I am not looking forward to expanding this line of interest.
So my dear friends, a brief summary of what I have been up to until now. I ardently hope that my life with that of my loved ones remains a series of meaningful experiences throughout.
Keep us in your prayers!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Back in 2018-2019, I had faced a lot of rejections from various publishing houses. And although I had built by then a small but loyal reader base for my blogs, I couldn’t help but feel like an imposter. How could I even think of becoming even remotely successful when all these professionals were rejecting my work? I must be delusional. The feeling of dejection only strengthened during that time. I had almost made up my mind to discard this line and find something else to pursue. It was then that I confided in the three people I trust the most: Mr. A, my sister and my brother. By that time they knew something was up with me but didn’t know the whole extent of emotional turmoil I was going through. When I informed them of my decision, almost unanimously they told me to take a break but not give up,
So, I heeded that advice and took some time off for myself. I cannot be glad enough that I did.
You see, in focusing on what wasn’t happening, I had lost perspective of what was happening. Rejections and downfalls are important because they give us the best opportunity to grow and thrive. Challenges do not define us. Our reaction to those challenges do.
When I was thinking of giving up and doing something else, I had completely disregarded the quite real possibility that any other profession would also require as much effort and struggle as this one. Maybe not in the same way, but it will. Even today, on days, it could get extremely difficult to stay consistent. To push myself. A voice constantly tells me that its unnecessary to work this hard for a dream but then, what would we be teaching our extremely impressionable daughters if I gave up?
My journey has long stopped being just my own.
We (Mr. A and I) have personal and collective goals which we are trying hard to attain. Regardless of how many of these come to a realization, and how many of their successes we get to experience in this short life of ours, I can say with conviction that our children are watching us work hard and I hope that on the day they feel like giving up, they will remember the person we showed them they should become.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

That good writing doesn’t always translate to published writing. Also, unless extremely controversial which will guarantee returns, there’s a general expectation of what your writing should be like.
The publishing industry, like any other industry has one goal only: to make money. With the emergence of OTT and streaming platforms and a constant demand of storylines compatible with screen conversions, there is a constant lookout of sellable material. The more controversial, the better it is for ratings and sales.
When I started sending out my works to the publishing houses and journals etc, they were all based on my experience in my homeland or here as an immigrant. So when the replies were consistent with: “I can’t relate to it”, I kept wondering how would they? They haven’t had the same experiences as me. I haven’t had the same experiences as them. So of course it might not be relatable. But wasn’t the object of a diversified literature, to be more inclusive of any and all experiences?
Around that time, I had someone write me a mail about how much they loved my writing but couldn’t move ahead with it because they couldn’t relate to it. That mail made me realize that maybe, just maybe, my writings or the writings of many other such writers as me isn’t a problem. The problem is that within the industry, the goods should be bankable enough for this intensely competitive market.
It might seem unfair, but again, they do have a point.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wordsfromazra.home.blog/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rahmanofmanzer/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/azraisonline
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/azra-rahman-4b81a29a/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ManzerRahman
• Other: https://homehijabandhumor.home.blog/