Narratives of the Middle East, the region I most often work, are often told in the tired tropes. One of the facets of “othering” people is to strip them of diversity and vibrancy, and so it’s the vibrancy I reinstate: the humanity, the complexity, the contradictions of real people. We need a sophisticated and more nuanced conversation. If you can present people in their complexity audiences, readers, viewers can relate to them much more, so this is what I’m striving to do.