How did you become a writer?

It started out as just a bit of fun with a childhood friend of mine. We’d write these slapdash, nonsensical stories about monsters, famous people, or our classmates more as a way to have fun with my father’s electric typewriter than to tell an actual story. And then one day, when I was probably 15 or 16, I sat down by myself at the new family computer to write a story more like the kinds of stories I was reading at the time (I was a huge Stephen King junkie). After that, my love of writing, and my desire to be a writer, just never really went away.

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

I credit my English teachers—in high school, in college, in graduate school—with shaping how I think about writing. Because of them, I was exposed to so many wonderful novels and stories I would never have encountered on my own. While I’ve never taken a writing course at the college level, I like to think these teachers helped me learn how to write better by showing me how to read better. Thanks to them, I’m not rudderless when I sit down at my desk. 

When and where do you write? 

I balance my fiction with my day job writing marketing copy. I try to give myself at least two to three hours every morning to work on my fiction, then spend the rest of the day working different writing muscles for clients. My desk is a big piece of plywood on four wobbly legs from IKEA. There’s a small window through which I can see an imposing black walnut tree that blocks out a lot of the afternoon heat. There are also shelves of books and films I’ve read and loved over the years; I like to think they give off good vibes as I sit here and write. 

What are you working on now? 

I’m currently making my way through a third draft of a new novel. Once I’ve finished that, I’ll likely turn my attention to some more short stories currently percolating in the back of my mind.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? 

There was a period in my life, roughly from 2000 to 2017, where I did not write any fiction whatsoever. It’s not that the passion or ideas weren’t there—it’s that I was overwhelmed by the terror all writers struggle with. What if what I’m writing isn’t good enough? What if I have nothing to say? What if people hate what I write? The fear was just too much for me. I don’t think such fear can ever be mastered; only managed. And managing that fear was my path around it. Now, I feel as if I’m making up for lost time. 

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

I had a teacher in high school who once wrote on a short story of mine this commandment: “Never stop writing.” I’m ashamed to say, I did stop for quite some time, with the result being that when I came back to fiction as an adult, I felt I somewhat had to start from scratch. Which is to say that showing up every day and doing the work—even if you don’t want to, even if what’s coming out is reprehensible, even if you’re terrified of it—is the best possible thing to do. In many respects, I learned from those three words that writing is as much about perseverance as it is about creativity.

What’s your advice to new writers?

Likeability in one’s characters is highly overrated. Fiction is for thinking about what it means to be a human, not for making friends. Write interesting characters, not likeable ones. Flawed characters covered in mud are so much more memorable (to this reader, at least) than characters spit-shined and set up in public squares as role models. 

Zak Salih is the author of the novel Let’s Get Back to the Party (2021). His writing has appeared in Foglifter, Crazyhorse, Epiphany, The Florida Review, the Millions, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and other publications. He lives in Washington, DC.