Why Writing Needs Courage
Quote of the week:
“Wisdom is not in knowing all the answers, but in recognising which questions are worth carrying with you.”
Writing progress: 75% done.
Writing is like walking in the dark, trusting your steps not to fail you. You rarely know what’s coming next. Maybe you sense the general direction, or maybe you don’t—but the next line, the next paragraph, the next character you create is something you uncover along the way.
Writing is trusting yourself to build a brand-new world without ever having lived in it before. It’s one of the most courageous acts you can take. At times, you’ll hesitate—wondering whether to turn right or left, forward or back. But here’s the beautiful part: no matter what you choose, your first draft is just a rough canvas waiting to be refined. The trap? You don’t realize it while you’re writing. We all want to get it right the first time. That perfectionist voice in your head will push for flawlessness too soon.
Here’s a pro tip: whenever you find yourself obsessing over whether a small detail matters, remind yourself—you’ll always have the time to revisit, reshape, and polish later.
A little exciting update…
Another Friday blog. It’s exciting this time.
First off, this is my favorite quote from this week’s writing:
“When you’re at your lowest, ‘normal’ feels like a language you once knew but can’t remember how to speak.”
Do you think the main character said this? Anyways…I just hit 72% on A Ceremony of the Forgotten, and wow… things are getting intense.The final chapters are where everything I’ve been building toward starts to snap into place — secrets spilling, tensions boiling, and twists I’ve been dying to write finally coming to life.
There’s this strange mix of excitement and nerves at this stage. I know exactly where it’s all headed, but the characters keep surprising me, adding little moments I didn’t see coming. It feels less like I’m writing and more like I’m racing to keep up with them.
This is hands-down my favorite part of the process. The stakes are high, every scene matters, and the whole story feels alive. I can’t wait for you to see where it all lands.
Finally, thanks a lot for all your support. This book will blow your mind. I promise.
— A.S. ALTABTABAI
New Title/Cover?
New title down below only shared here in the blog. Thanks for reading in advance!
Update 3.0
I’m happy to share that the story is coming along really well. The latest details I’ve been adding are making it richer and more layered—complex, but in a way that still feels effortless. One thing I learned early on as a writer is that a first draft can completely miss the mark—and that’s perfectly fine. But this time, I feel like this draft is far more streamlined than anything I’ve written before, even compared to Nostalgic Rain or Worlds in Decay—and that’s exciting.
I’m now approaching the final arc, which is always thrilling but also demands an eagle eye for detail and a careful awareness of every plot thread. On top of that, I’ve started rethinking the book’s title and cover (yes… again). With the latest twists in the story, I feel both deserve a fresh round of brainstorming. I already have one name that I’m really drawn to.
For those following this blog, I’ll share it here for a few days before taking it down until the official reveal. If it speaks to you, let me know in the comments.
Proposed title: A Ceremony of the Forgotten (Share your thoughts down below!)
Also, I will share the new cover art and subsequent novel art (art describing the world) here first before any other platform.
Why I’m changing the title of my new novel?
From “Something We Had Wished For” to “Mountain Reverie”
When I first began writing this story, it was a quiet, heartwarming tale—something tender and almost dreamlike. The original title, Something We Had Wished For, reflected that. It carried the softness I thought the story would hold from beginning to end.
But then the story grew.
What started as a simple emotional journey turned into something far more layered. The characters took me places I didn’t expect. New plot threads formed, deeper themes emerged—grief, memory, isolation, and mystery. The setting itself became almost a character: the mountain, the observatory, the looming silence between two people who were never meant to meet.
This isn’t just a soft story anymore. It’s a reverie—a haunting one. Still emotional, still human, but now with a stronger spine and darker edges.
That’s why I’ve changed the title to Mountain Reverie.
It fits the world the story has become. It hints at solitude, at wonder, at something both beautiful and unsettling.
And I think you’ll feel that too when you see the cover.
I’ll be revealing it soon. Stay close.
The Domain is Back!
It all begins with an idea.
8 years ago, I had a website just like this. And it ran for the span of around 5 years. It was fun, because I used to update things there every now and then, and it was a platform for my books to be found by people. But then the domain was taken, and I didn’t want to build my new website with a domain that read like tabt24249.
If you’re here for the first time—welcome!