Kummam Al Maadeed (right), and the cover page of her book.
Among a huge collection of thousands of books in numerous languages representing different genres at Doha International Book Fair, a collection of flash fiction works by Kummam Al Maadeed Sparks of Imagination pulls the attraction of Qatari citizens and residents alike.
‘Sparks of Imagination’, a collection of flash fiction and one random short story, holds within its pages the world of drama, romance, fantasy and more.
Kummam’s name in the field of English fiction writing is not new in Qatar. She after writing two novels ‘The Lost Rose’ and ‘Calling Magic’, which have already won readers’ appreciation far and wide, applied her imagination to create flash fiction scenes in response to a friend’s challenge.
The new book of Kummam at pavilion of Dar Al Sharq also provides insight and tips on the writing process to spark the imagination of those who need it. Nowadays, she is working on a new novel.
In addition to stories, in the end of each scene the reader finds a short writing tip to enrich their experience. “They are few and short, but I hope they will give you the needed push in case you too like to start your own writing career.”
“In the summer of 2019 my friend challenged me to write one story each day for 30 days. The challenge was set to help me break from a really bad writer’s block. The challenge, as she said, would help me have fun and bond with my inner creative self. It was time to remember to write for me and just enjoy the journey,” Kummam writes in the introduction of ‘Sparks of Imagination’.
She adds: “This challenge made me want to explore my imagination and this is where the title of this book comes from, Sparks of Imagination. It represents how random and versatile my mind is.”
She told The Peninsula that she started writing when she was at Qatar University in 2007 and only managed to get published in 2016.
The writer, who works as Section Head of Media and Publications at Qatar University, talked about the inspiration behind writing flash fiction collection in just thirty days, saying: “I was having a writer’s block and needed to do a writing exercise to help me break from it. So this was just to jog my mind but when I was done I thought why not share this experience with readers and other writers.”
Regarding the general feedback she had received on ‘Sparks of Imagination’, Kummam says that she was amazed by the great support and love from her family, friends and readers. “They gave me feedback and did their best to get the word out about my book. The best thing I got out of this is that I’m inspiring many of other aspiring writers saying I opened the door for fantasy writing in English in Qatar.” Talking on Doha
International Book Fair, she said: “I believe it’s evolving every year especially with the new local publishing houses and local writers’ participation in it. I wish however that the book fair will bring more English writers from across the globe to be guests and participate in workshops and seminars.”
She says that publishing a book is hard anywhere but since in Doha there is a rarity of writing fantasy in English, she feels lucky that she got an opportunity to bring to people fantasy stories that they like and get the attention for it.
When asked about the future of flash fiction in Qatar, Kummam said that flash fiction was hard to sell anywhere because it was too short. “This is why I added the writing tips in the end of each story to put more value into the book.”
Kummam says that she does not have any favourite flash fiction author. “I actually didn’t know what flash fiction was until I wanted to explain what my summer project was and I stumbled on it by accident.”
She thinks that it is extremely hard to tell the readers a great story in limited word count. “Every word counts. Every word should have a purpose. I believe that I am still inexperienced in the short story field but it was fun to try it out.”
The book includes twelve different flash fiction scenes. Each is different than the other and the writer has tried to write each in a different style. It also holds within its pages one short story, one that came to Kummam as an idea many years ago and she could never figure out how to write it.
