Emirati challenges self to become an author

ABU DHABI: An Emirati woman, who took a challenge to write on various topics every day for 100 days, has turned her works into a book.

Abu Dhabi-based Asma Al Jailani’s Constellations of Home, now available on Amazon, is a collection of poetry and prose, mapping the author’s journey of getting back to writing.

Road to rediscovery

Asma, 29, started writing a blog when she was just 13. However, somewhere along the way, she lost touch with the craft. For two years she didn’t write anything. As frustration and fear of not being able to write again mounted, a friend suggested Asma that she write for the next 100 days and post her musings on social media with the hashtag #100DaysOfWriting.

“The idea spurred me into action and I decided to commit myself to writing for 100 days,” Asma recalled.

“I wrote what I felt like and posted it on social media. A book was never part of the plan. But the response my writings elicited encouraged me to have my work self-published,” she added.

“The challenge got over long ago but I haven’t stopped writing. I feel if I stop I will get rusty again,” she said.