On Writing : Writing and personality by Meriem Bouziani

Hi, Meriem Bouziani. That's a great question. My writing and world-building might influence who I am, but mainly who I am and what I research influence my writing and world-building.

Yes, it’s a give-and-take relationship Maurice Vaughan

What an interesting question.

I think it's mutual. Sometimes skewed a bit more one way or the other. But there's a balance that happens.

Yes, as you said, balance is important. But I think we ourselves carry the greater share of the impact. For me, I’ve tried many times to think outside sci-fi or fantasy, but I can’t sustain it Elle Bolan

I have the opposite issue, @Meriem. I can't seem to stay in one lane. I've written comedy, thriller, horror, art house, sci-fi, drama, fantasy.

I can't write straight romance, though. It comes out awkward. But having no clear lane I sit in makes it real hard to find a home or way to market my work.

"Compatible Creative Weirdness." Thank you! I have spent so many years trying find a consistently good way to describe the essence of what you're talking about.

Because it's not just that I'm a geek, with a particularly eclectic set of storytelling I am drawn to, like a moth to a bat signal.I don't know if the aphantasia or just something else in me, but when you declare you want to make movies when you grow up, start writing your own stories and can read at a 6th grade level before you turn 7, whatever makes you the weirdo you are, is clearly innate. So, when the the BF's from your school days didn't turn out to be worthy of another two F's, and you're unlikely to find people genuinely compatible with your geeky/nerdy brand of creative weirdness among the coworkers talking about the current season of "Survivor" at the water cooler, you end up with a close sister and a clear case of social isolation. :)

And that search for a creative weirdness on the same wavelength as my own, also explains why my dating profiles (back when I bothered) were always strategically verbose and complex. Occasionally someone would tell me the TL/dr of my profile meant I got fewer messages and I would shake my head at their failure to grasp that that was a feature, not a flaw. But just saying I'm a geek didn't really convey the issue properly.

As to your question; even when I'm writing fiction, the worlds I create are largely reflective

of who I am. I have been known to evolve and grow while developing stories in my head - for business or for pleasure - but the world I'm creating is still generally a reflection of who I am at my core (including my inner storyteller), and what I want the real world to be.

But if there is one thing I've learned about my people, it's that there is as much variation in we storytellers as there is in any of our characters.

I have no doubt that for some creators, particularly the younger ones, the worlds and stories help them to define and refine their own self-identity.

That’s such a great talent. Being able to move through many genres shows a flexible imagination. Enjoy it—this is a great opportunity. Elle Bolan

Thank you for sharing your journey with me. I know that feeling—when your thoughts feel strange and you can’t freely share what’s in your mind with others, it’s truly difficult. But that sense of ‘weirdness’ helps us create different worlds and express who we are; in a way, it becomes a form of psychological healing Katherine Lynn Kane

Who I am influences my writing and world-building, however do research for said writing and world-building also has its influences. Especially if it's a topic I find very interesting, I learn something new. For example, for a sci-fi action screen play with jets, I researched how in-flight refueling is done. Not exactly practical everyday information, but it did learn something and will likely use it in subsequent screenplays.

Yes, I completely agree. Each of my stories teaches me something new. I’ve noticed that my work often gravitates toward complex ideas, and I sometimes surprise myself by where those ideas come from. In many cases, my stories push me to explore topics I had never considered before. It’s a genuine mental discipline—a form of intellectual and cognitive gymnastics Michael Dzurak

What you learn when you research for a complex story certainly informs your attitudes and can very much shape you.

A very thoughtful post and a very pertinent question!

Yes, absolutely—especially when it keeps pushing us to explore topics we might never have dared to think about or study David Taylor

Thank you very much Michael David

“Meriem — I think the relationship is deeply mutual. We begin by shaping our writing with who we are, but over time the worlds we return to, the questions we keep asking, and the conflicts we explore start shaping us back. I’ve noticed that writing often reveals values or emotional truths before I’m consciously aware of them — almost like the work is teaching me what I’m still learning how to articulate. In that sense, writing becomes both a mirror and a compass.”

That’s the true relationship between an author and their work: each shapes and nurtures the other’s growth Charmane Wedderburn

I think it's both and neither at the same time. Obviously when I write, I'm channeling my own beliefs and desires, but sometimes I naturally play against type if the story demands it. For example, I don't like wine at all, but it's a very important recurring element in Lunar Window and my protagonist Cass's beverage of choice. I also don't like horror as a genre, but if I have a strong story idea that requires it, I will at least write horror elements.

I prefer writing from imagination but certain things from my life happen to fit wonderfully into the story I'm writing so I've learned not to resist that.

That’s inspiring—thank you for sharing your thoughts. I really admire the flexibility in your writing and your openness to trying new genres. That’s something I genuinely struggle with. I’m trying to challenge my usual writing patterns, but they feel so deeply rooted in my thinking that changing them isn’t easy Banafsheh Esmailzadeh

You're welcome, and thank you Meriem Bouziani. The great thing about creating is that you are in complete control of your comfort zone, and it's an entirely safe environment where you can explore (or not explore) whatever you want. I think once you realise that (it's so obvious that we're often blind to it), you can start branching out when you're comfortable enough to do so.

For example when I was writing Petal, I got the idea to ramp up the surrealism not just in the story's events with letting go of the concern that it makes sense or not, but even employing something mainly possible in video games and also manga; interface screw. As in, the very framework itself isn't even safe, so it's a special kind of fourth wall break. It's why Petal is full of special quotation marks not just for different languages, but also who is talking and how the message is being spread.

Granted, stuff like this probably comes more easily if you're funny-brained like I am lol but nonetheless there's no reason you can't try it too at your own pace :)

Meriem Bouziani I love this question Meriem, and I feel it is a symbiotic relationship, like the infinity symbol, there is no answer really, as Banafsheh Esmailzadeh also touches upon. Our thoughts and feelings make up our actions and this, our reality, then our realities inspire us to create and begin telling stories, but then, stories from outside, shape our inner realities, shaping us, etc...it's a dance ; )

Yes, we’re the creators, so we’re free to develop things however we want. But I still have a strong concern for scientific plausibility—that’s why. Still, maybe I’ll try reading some manga to take inspiration like you Banafsheh Esmailzadeh

Exactly Juliana Philippi

it’s a symbiotic relationship. That’s the exact term.

I feel like my obsession with scientific plausibility almost becomes a kind of mental illness for me—I spend too much time reinforcing it hh Banafsheh Esmailzadeh

Meriem Bouziani lol I feel that, it could be xD it can be hard to let go of but try it :)

Thank you, Meriem — beautifully put. I love the idea of mutual nurturing. When the work is honest, it really does feel like a living conversation rather than a one-way act of creation.

Yes, it’s a true, active conversation that only the creator truly knows, feels, and lives. Even when we share our work, no one can experience it the way we do the first time. Charmane Wedderburn

“Exactly — that first, private experience belongs only to the creator. Sharing the work invites others into it, but that initial conversation stays uniquely ours, and I think that’s part of what gives the work its pulse.’