Writing Your Own Process: Yasmin Zaher
Alumni share their experiences and insights on polishing the craft and finding their own voice
How has your writing changed throughout the years? What has surprised you the most?
The most painful writing lesson in my opinion is learning to rewrite. I didn’t know there was a need for it, didn’t know how to do it, was always too attached to my first ideas and sentences. With the years I learnt to write multiple drafts that were significantly different from one another.
What do you enjoy about writing the most? The least?
I love the first draft and putting down new material. It’s wild, surprising, exploratory. I dislike every draft thereafter, although I recognize it’s as important as the first if not more.
Who have you been reading lately? How have they influenced your writing or inspired you in any way?
I recently read Erasure by Percival Everett and I think it’s an absolute masterpiece. It’s a book about the relationship between identity and art, and it’s given me courage to write outside of what is expected of me as a Palestinian writer.
How did completing an MFA help you find your style or purpose in your writing?
My style completely changed during my MFA. I came in conventional and came out a lot more experimental – which is maybe the opposite of what you would expect.
What piece of advice would you give to current students who are in the process of crafting their first novels/collections?
While writing, learn to shut down the critical voice in your head. It can be turned on again when it’s time to edit.
YASMIN ZAHER is a Palestinian journalist and writer born in Jerusalem. Her first novel, The Coin, won the 2025 Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize.
This interview series is produced by Camilla Marchese Gonzalez.