A YA fantasy where magic is muted in the rain

Zahra Naveed is working on a book. The genre is YA fantasy, "where magic is muted in the rain," and she says it touches on themes of hopelessness and the dynamic of power.

She is clear on one point. "I'm extremely proud to mention that I haven't used AI in the process of the idea of it," she says. No AI at any step, and none planned as the story goes on.

“there's no point in mastery if you haven't learnt something from the process”

Zahra Naveed

The book is a first step. What sits behind it she describes as "the larger practise of turning your ideas into stories that actually exist outside of my head."

"I want to write because I believe everyone has a story to tell," she says. "I want to leave behind stories and visual work that prove I was here."

She says she cares about knowledge and creation. "I don't want to consume my whole life; I want to make something that remains."

For now the work is spread out. "Right now my work is scattered across drafts, ideas, and smaller creative outlets rather than one polished final thing," she says. She is working on mapping out the story by outlining the chapters. "I'm very proud of making something like this from scratch and what better way to preserve a memory than to share it?" she says.