Ramadan and Writing

Assalamualaikum wbt and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

Today marks the thirteenth day of Ramadhan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims. The main point in fasting is not "putting slim back into Muslim" (Ariffin, 2014); instead it is to improve our worship to ALLAH.

How does being hungry improve our worship to God?

Well, Ramadhan is not the month where Muslims merely refrain from food and drinks. Muslims must also exorcise bad habits and inculcate good habits as well as increasing our quality in praying. For instance, a person can actually quit smoking or reduce his smoking habit during Ramadhan. Since he is fasting, he is forced to refrain from smoking from dawn to dusk. A person who has anger issues will feel lazy enough to retort back for she will feel that it is a waste of energy. The rich can actually feel what it is like to be hungry resulting in empathy for the poor. Muslims who had never prayed the five daily prayers before are called to perform them because of the Ramadhan atmosphere. And above all, when Muslims are doing all these good deeds, it is hoped that Muslims will grow accustom with them and continue this quality in worship even after Ramadhan.

So...how can all of this relate to writing?

Ramadhan is like a boot camp or a correctional facility. In the camp, we will be forced to do things that we don't like but are in reality beneficial to us: waking up early, eating moderately, fulfill our responsibility etc.
Therefore, Ramadhan can actually help you with your writing. Only for a month, just commit yourself to waking up early so that you will have a couple of hours "extra" in a day. Then write at least 3-5 pages a day. Eat moderately so you won't feel sleepy and lazy thus neglecting your writing. You can even squeeze in more pages since you don't take a two hour nap anymore. So in a month you'll get 90-150 pages. Make this a normal routine and in a few months, God willing, your first draft is completed!