Hadiyah Khan is an English with Creative Writing student here at Brunel University.
What writer(s) influenced you most and why?
JK Rowling, first and foremost, because although it’s cliche, the Harry Potter books were a really big part of my life for a long time, and helped foster my love of reading. JM Barrie for the same reason. China Mieville because of his ambition to write a novel in every genre (and because I don’t want to become pigeonholed into writing in the same genre all my life).
What’s your favourite genre and why?
Probably Sci-fi because I find it the most engaging to get into, whatever medium it comes in. Sci-fi is guaranteed to get you thinking.
Can you give us a brief insight into your writing process?
I do a hell of a lot of planning. When I’m planning a novel I try and get most of it plotted out in bullet points, and a set of bullet points from each main character’s point of view so I can chart their character arcs and avoid plot holes. I like finding inspiration online- sometimes a really great piece of artwork can kick me into gear when I’m being lazy.
What do you want to do after university?
Eventually I’d like to be a published novelist, but while that’s a long-term goal, my short-term goal is to become an editor.
You can read Hadiyah’s short story, alongside many others, in The Psyche Supermarket released on the 11th of March.
You can also find her on twitter at @AJElensar and Tumblr at ajelensar.tumblr.com
Brunel Writer 