I always have a story in my head that needs to be written, or at least I think I do. But I usually can't find the time to write it.
In Israel, the role of the writer is dictated by the language in which you write. Writers see themselves as cultural prophets.
In the army you feel violated - there's no private space. Writing was a life-saver, a way of recovering private territory.
It took a lot to understand that the interest in both writing a story and reading it is not in the objective dangers someone takes. You don't have to fight snakes or wake up in a strange apartment to have a story; it's about what goes on inside your mind and soul.
I tried once in my life to write a novel. I had written something like 80 pages of it when my laptop got stolen. When I told people this, they acted as if something tragic had happened, but I kind of felt relieved, grateful to the thief who saved me from another year of something that felt more like homework than fun.
I see creative-writing classes as some sort of AA meeting. It is more of a support group for people who write than an actual course in which you learn writing skills. This support group is extremely important because there is something very lonely about writing.
When I started writing my stories, I thought that not only nobody outside my language, but nobody outside my neighbourhood would get them.
The reason I write is that I'm not in dialogue with my emotions; writing puts me in touch with myself.
