Q&A by Maya Chami from Zoomaal - Dare to Write the Book of your Life - 19 Oct,2013

Dare to write the Book of your Life:   

''An Overflow of Words''

Tell us about yourself
Since the age of seven, I’ve never ceased to write poems, letters and entries into my diary. My life was always revolved around literature and writing. During my free time, I am always surrounded by books. I am also a polyglot, being a lover of languages because I believe it is the best way to break the barriers and reach a wider variety of literature and cultures. I currently speak several languages fluently such as: Arabic, French, English and German. And I'm currently learning Indonesian and Japanese.

Tell us about your Journey with An Overflow of Words and how you involved it into your project which is Dare to Write the Book of your Life?

Since the age of seven years old; I have been writing poems and letters, with every intention of sending them to cousins in Paris. 

By the time I reached lower secondary school, I was very inspired and motivated by a French teacher to continue my passion for writing. She always encouraged us to get a diary and write in it every day, as a way to improve our French skills. Since then, I never stopped writing in my diary, and today, that little French class exercise has turned into my novel as an autobiography. 

A journey that has taken place since 2007 to 2012, in times where I felt like I was achieving something amazing, writing down moments in my life, making it all the more vulnerable, is one that includes a roller coaster of mixed feelings and themes throughout my life. Six years of my life were penned down into one book, with more being added everyday. 

I believe that people come into our lives for a reason, to touch us in some way or another, to teach us something important, or leave an impact on our lives. I believe that my book captures that essence of life through my experiences and stories from my every day life. 

What is the Impact of your project?

Once a person starts documenting their lives through a diary, it usually feels awkward, since it feels as if you're writing into nothing (or more like talking to yourself). But today, there are many platforms that offer people a way to document their lives, feelings and moments through social networks. 

In my case, A pen and paper was what I used, and I feel that while social networks might do the same thing as a diary, they are being lost in a cloud of technology, whereas a pen and paper immortalizes those moments forever. I hope that through my book, I will touch people with my stories, my life, and maybe even inspire them to grab their own pen and paper and write about their lives. 

What is the idea you think best that influence your thinking from your personal experience?

Through the use of words, fictional characters; people can learn how to word their emotions, beliefs and opinions that, in some way, would allow us to begin believing in new things through the stories that are each told from a different perspective. 

                                                                                          Saturday,19 Oct,2013