When I was twelve I was halfway through my first novel. It was a story about witches and the struggles of secondary school (my biggest concern back then). It didn't take me long to realise that it wasn't any good. I came up with some sort of ritual and ceremoniously drowned these pages in the …
Continue reading Why I write in English instead of my native language
Find the third part of the story here Part IV: Elena It was snowing outside, but the windows of my studio were wide-open to let the fresh air in, and the cigarette smoke out. I was reading Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment while the cat slept in my lap. The cover of the book was partly …
Find the second part of the story here Part III: Rebellion I was waiting before the arrow-like logo of the supermarket. I expected Leonid to arrive on his new mountain bike. It never came. Instead a flashy red scooter from the 1980's drove towards me. 'Your mother knows you took her scooter?' I asked. The …
Find the first part of the story here Part II: Adolescence Leonid and I did our first year of Latin-Greek together, but he changed schools to study mathematics. I had not seen him for three years when I spotted his familiar blonde curls near a stall selling snowman jumpers on the Christmas market, or he …
Part 1: Childhood Our ten-year-old selves hurried across the Market Square of Bruges. Our bicycles trembled as we rode over the cobbles. We had to hold our noses as we crossed the Fish Market before turning left. The brakes of Leonid's mountain bike squeaked as we halted before the arrow-like logo of the supermarket. 'Bet …
Notebooks are for me the place where characters get their voice, where plots are outlined, and where the story begins. That's why I've a duffel bag crammed with used notebooks, and a second duffel bag crammed with unused notebooks patiently waiting to be filled with my sloppy handwriting. I'm not a writing expert, and I …
Continue reading Notebooks, and why they have improved my writing.
