Q&A with Heba Al Qattan, One of Riyadh’s Youngest Authors

It’s always refreshing to come across young Saudi writers wanting to impart their stories with the world. We came across one such talent recently, Heba Al Qattan, who managed to create and publish her first book entitled, “Swindlers”. We chatted with the 19-year-old medical student at King Saud University to know about her book, inspirations and cure for writer’s block.

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I started writing when my sister gave me my first journal. I was 5 years old at the time. My first story was a poem about a whale afraid of mice, which I wrote to my sister in a card.

My biggest inspiration was actually fear. I was afraid of college and thought it was going to diminish my creativity and passion for writing. I was so determined to get Swindlers done before college started that I wrote it in two nights without sleeping.

Swindlers is a short story about two attractive, young con-men, Victor and Lawrence, who are forced to become partners in crime by their boss. They don’t exactly get along, but when it comes to conning, they’re a match made in heaven. I was always inspired by con-artists, but my main inspiration was the movie “Catch Me If You Can”.

Yes, it was extremely exhausting. I used a self-publishing website called Lulu.com, but they still needed to check and approve the work. Because I self-published it, I had to manage everything on my own, including design, promotion, manufacturing and a bunch of other things. That was definitely my biggest challenge.

I contacted Jarir and had a meeting with their board. They got the book approved by the government. Then, we settled on a price together and they made an order of 200 copies, which are almost sold out but will be restocked soon in all Jarir branches.

Write a lot, even though it’s difficult to see improvements. Trust me, you are improving.

Read a lot, obviously.

Get readers for your writing, like friends and family.

Last but not least, master the art of editing. It’s 90% of writing.

The only way I deal with writer’s block is believing it doesn’t exist, like vampires or the tooth fairy. Another alternative would be to just keep writing. Got nothing to write because you have writer’s block? Write about how you have writer’s block.

My favorite classic writer would be Edgar Allan Poe. My favorite current writer is Daniel Handler, AKA Lemony Snicket.

I hope to continue writing, and possibly continue Swindlers as a series. My dream would be to sell my writing internationally and make an impact on the world with my words.