A Gay Father’s Oedipus complex

Michael and Daniel dismantling an old video machine.

Today I had another opportunity to see the special version of an Oedipus complex I have in my single parent family. It was due to the damned winter clock, which started in Israel three days ago and caused us a kind of a jet lag.
We woke up at 04.30 a.m. This was the regular time we got up during the summer (05.30). But now its the middle of the night. And thus, at 11.30 a.m., the minute I opened my portable to work at, in Aroma Caffe at Karmiel, I had a message from the kindergarten manager, saying that both my boys are extremely sleepy and that she thinks I should take them home earlier to sleep.
I went to work in a coffee shop at Karmiel because I ordered a pest control this morning. Daniel and especially Michael are getting bitten all over their bodies for the last few weeks. We went to see a skin doctor, who gave us a prescription for a curtain soapless sope and cream. But This didn’t help them.
The exterminator came by. He examined my house thoroughly with a flashlight until he has found the source of this problem – tropical fowl mites. He sprayed the house, so I had to take out the pets for few hours and go out as well.

When I got to the kindergarten Daniel said he wants to go back home. Michael insisted to stay with his friends. I took Daniel home, gave him his favorite dairy and permitted him to dismantle an old vacuum cleaner he has found. I had my meal and then asked him if he wants to sleep with me. He was happy to do that. Usually, we do not sleep together. The boys can come to my bed at night if they have nightmares. But if they do, they usually come to my bed together. This time was his private time with dad.

We went into bed and hugged. Then he said, “Dad, I love you so much that I want to marry you.”
I laughed.
“You are my son. So you do not have to merry me. You will better get married to someone you will love, a boy or a girl.”
“I will merry Pino (our dog) and Damka and Gilon (our cats)!” he giggled. And then we went to sleep.

In the afternoon Michael came home, extremely tired. He and his brother spent some time watching TV. When finished, I invited them to dismantle an old video machine I have found in the recycling corner. They did it happily.
I used this time to make the land in a hidden piece of land, where the engine of the Heating System lies. During the summer the kids used it as their hiding place and filled it with rubbish, but as winter came, and I saw that I have too many seeds to sow with no more land, I have decided to clean this lot and use it as another plot of greenery.
I will sow in it today.
The evening fell early. By six o’clock it was already dark outside. I showered the boys, read them a story, and they went to sleep, while I went downstairs to complete my year long planning of writing, teaching and editing projects. I have 6 novels to edit, 4 novels to read, 4 poetry books to edit and 2 books for children. I expect another 2 novels to edit during this year.
This doesn’t include teaching six courses of creative writing this semester, and the two novels and book of parenthood, a collection of short stories and my MA thesis that I want to write and edit this year.
This is completely insain. I hope I will get a literary prize, a scholarship or an amazing creative work, that will enable me to dilute those editing assignments.
Be well,
Ilan.

On Being a housewife

Yesterday I took a walk outside. This is a part of the view in which we live.

As you probably know, in Judaism Friday is the opening to the holiest day of Shabbat, and because of this, Friday is dedicated to cleaning, shopping, cooking and maintenance home for Shabbat.
This is deeply rooted in the heart of any Jew including myself. This is the beauty and curse of tradition. It enforces you to act according to custom, even if you don’t keep Shabbat – you do not go to the synagogue, you lit light and drive your car, you work in your garden – but you lit Shabbat candles, you to the wine blessing and the blessing of bread, and you cook the same food as you were used to in your family of origin. In my case, it is a roasted chicken and potatoes, a chicken soup, and various sorts of first dishes.
This is what I did today. I woke up at 05.00 a.m, and after writing my morning pages I cleaned the house, its full two stores, sinks, bathroom, and toilet bowls included.
Only then I took my boys to the kindergarten, and drove with Veronica, the kindergarten assistant, to do shopping in Karmiel.
On our way back I stopped in several stores of technical maintenance. Two days ago I have found that a mole is digging and eating my vegetable garden, and since I didn’t succeed to hunt him, I had to buy a poison bait. But I could not find one.
I put all the products I have bought in place and went to bring the kids back home. I served them a meal, which they have refused, due to the chocolate birthday cake they had in the kindergarten this morning, ate alone, reading the shameful story about the lady who lives in the prime minister’s residence, and went to sleep.
In the afternoon I had to sow all the seeds that were left in their begs. The weather forecast says that tomorrow the winter will come to Israel, with a storm of heavy rain. So I wanted to finish sowing before this blessed rain.
I have prepared too many seeds of different kinds of vegetables. I am so enthusiastic about living in the Gelilee, that I have lost perspective – there are no droppers lines left.
So I sowed between the lines. I said to myself that winter comes and that the seeds will get enough rain. And if not, they will get water from the nearest dropper.
I believe that very soon I will have a forest of vegetables here. I sowed so much cabbage, Brussles sprouts, Turkish spinach, leeks, turnip etc., that I might find myself selling my field yield, or give it to my neighbors for free.
Michael and Daniel were abnoxious. They couldn’t find a friend to play with, on Friday afternoon, so they budger each other.
I exploded, and after that, they set and watched television, while I cooked our Shabbat dinner.
We had a quick shower, did the traditional blessing, ate and talked. I told them that all day long I did my best for them to have a good Shabbat day and that I expect them to keep the house clean and be calm.
We then went upstairs. I allowed them to sleep in my bed, because of the coming storm – my room is in the back of the house, so it’s warmer and quieter than their room. I will sleep in their room tonight. I read them half of the story about The Snow Queen, and they went to sleep.
Being a single parent is not an easy task indeed. While cleaning the house this morning I kept thinking about housewives, how hard it is to be a housewife and a mother, and also the wife of an eager horny husband. I would have killed a man who would try to thrust himself into my body after such a day of toil.
Thank God I am not a married woman, but a single gay dad.

Many people told me that they would not donate money to a crowdfunding campaign, because they are afraid to use their credit card online. For those of you who still want to help me in my doubled
journey as a single gay father and an author, my PayPal is

אפשרויות תרומה

שעת כתיבה ₪100.00 ILS שתי שעות כתיבה ₪200.00 ILS שלוש שעות כתיבה ₪300.00 ILS יום כתיבה ₪600.00 ILS שני ימי כתיבה ₪1,200.00 ILS שבוע כתיבה ₪3,500.00 ILS

Thanks,
Ilan.

The impostors, and the Grand Finale

Daniel took this portrait of Michael this morning. He did feel bad.

This is the final day of my crowdfunding campaign. I have started it three months ago, with a target of 70,000 $, or 250,000 NIS. No writer set such a target for a crowdfunding campaign.
I did it for several reasons. I knew that I must target myself to this amount because this is what I need for a year. I imagined that I will not be able to get it from the campaign, and will have to compromise, put my writing aside and work. But I also knew that in order to write freely, in a calm state of mind, I need some economical assurance.
I got it. The last three months were economically frustrating. |Its the summer vacation, and then the holidays. I had no creative writing workshops running, but one, and although I have many books in line for editing, I could hardly work in editing, because I am a single gay father of twins, and must be with them during their vacations.
The money you have donated was transferred into my bank account every two weeks. By that, you already gave me the opportunity to write every day, without dealing with phone calls from the banks. Thanks for your help I wrote 250 pages in my next novel. This is great.
My crowdfunding campaign had many goals. The first was Monterey, but there were much more. I wanted to build my international appeal as a writer, and also to write more about my experience as a writer who is a single father of two sons. Thus I have decided that I will write a post every day, first in English so that I will not translate my thoughts from Hebrew into English, and then in Hebrew.
I did.
I know that my posts in English need editing, but I believe that I succeeded in giving you a glance into my life, my creative process, the way I see writing and the way I treat my kids. Those posts in Hebrew and English accumulate and will become books.
I believe in visualization, and in creating your reality by setting a very clear vision of your life ahead. I believe that by focusing on your vision and working towards it, you make it happen, and you also summon the universe to help you achieve what you believe at and what you want to get.
I already got the first signs of success. During the campaign, I got 40,235 NIS (11422 $). I also got two tax refunds by surprise, 4597 NIS (1305 $) from income tax and 9582 NIS (2720 $) from The Social Security. I also got 25,000 NIS as an advance for editing a book, and many more lectures, workshop meetings, and book for editing.
For me, and for all my dear donors, this campaign is a huge success. The sum of 40,000 NIS is what I earn in a full year teaching of four courses a semester at The Open University. Can you imagine that? What you have donated stands for teaching around 80-1000 students in each semester, and reading 12X80-100 written assignment per week.
So this is a great success indeed.
I hope that my newest novel, “The Wife of a Jewish Pirate” will gain at least one literary prize this year. If so, achieving my goal will be easy. If not, I will have to work hard to fulfill my goal. But with your help, I already decided that although I will teach 6 workshops this semester, and edit 3 books in a roll – I will keep three mornings absolutely free for writing.
This is possible only because of your kindness and caring, and for that, I thank you deeply,
Ilan Sheinfeld, Tuval, 26 October 2017.

P.S.

I titled this final post “The Imposters and the Grand Finale.” This is so, because, as I finished marketing my campaign and set at my table to write, I had a phone call from the kindergarten. Veronica called me. She said Michael complains about a headache and cold sweat. I rushed there and found my boy feeling bed. He said he wants to go home. Daniel, his brother, was crying, because Veronica, who knows I write during those days, did her best to convince him to stay at the kindergarten. I told him he can come home, as well.
It did not take long before Michael was cheerful again. It took a nice family meal, many hugs, and kisses and hugging his cat.
They even didn’t go to sleep at noon. They played together until I woke up, and we had a nice evening together.
Sometimes the boys simply need their father and pets and their home.
Not that they appreciate it.
Michael told me he loves me. But Daniel said that he doesn’t love me and that he wants to live in a different home, because when he has refused to put on his pyjamas I left it with him, shut the television, went upstairs with Michael, who was already sleepy, and told him that he can dress himself and come up when he pleases.
He came up shouting…
So this final day of my campaign was not a writing day, but a parenting day. But this gives you a fair notion of what it is to be a single gay parent of twins.

Miracels Do Happen

אביןק

My boys woke up extremely early this morning, at 04.45. I did too. We began the day while it was dark outside. Thus, and because I wanted them to be sprightly in their weekly football training, I told them that I will pick them up from the kindergarten at 14.00. This way they will be able to rest, maybe take a nap home, before going to the sports ground.
I worked all day. I edited, and in my break, I set some more droppers in my garden and cooked schnitzels. But when I came to the kindergarten to pick them home, they both refused. They had so much fun with their friends there, that they prefer to stay at the kindergarten then coming back home.
“This is wonderful sign,” I told Yael, the Kindergarten director, and teacher. She smiled. She knew why. It’s her achievement, her’s and her stuff – Kitchie, Veronica, Tami, Ofra, and Aviv.
I got a clue about it a few days ago. Michael woke up in the middle of the night, at 01.00 a.m., and told me, while half asleep, that tomorrow they will have a friendship party in the kindergarten. In the same morning, Daniel told me the same, enthusiastically. “We will eat A Krembo today!” he cheered. A Krembo is the Hebrew name for a chocolate-coated marshmallow treat.
The friendship party takes place only when the bottle of good deeds is full with beads. Yael and Veronica put one bead in the bottle for every good deed one of the kids do for a friend. When the bottle is full they announce the date of the next friendship party.
During the year they have 3-4 parties. The parents are invited to one of them, at the end of the year.
Directing the kids with this educational tool bring astonishing results. The kids love the kindergarten, they have very strong social ties with their friend, whom they invite every afternoon to our house, and they grow up in a cheerful, bordered and supportive environment.
Each day in this special kindergarten also includes going out to the yard, to play with scrap, picnics at the nearest grove, trips to the cowshed and the coop, the fields and the pillar, together with learning. This way, the kids get a full life experience, and they love it so much.
The educational approach and the ability to contain the kid’s behavior differs so much from what I have found in the municipal kindergarten system of Tel Aviv, that I bless God, my father and myself for each and every day since we have moved here.
So mircales do happen, such as the kindergarten of Tuval, and the children’s choice to stay in the kindergarten instead of going home.
Tonight is the last night of my crowdfunding campaign. I will be grateful if you will back it and share this post as well.
Thank you for being my readers,
Ilan.

P.S1 – Reading the History of Medicine (one of the books I read to nourish myself while writing my next novel) is not highly trcommended while watching your boys play football.

P.S2 – sex is a wonderful way of letting loose.

A Nose is a Snout

This is the amazingly beautiful flower of the Ladyfinger (Okra) which blossomed in my garden today. That means I can not eat its fruit, but I can certainly enjoy its beauty.

This morning I woke up so drowsy, due to the last two days in which I traveled to Jerusalem and to Tel Aviv, that I spent the morning in accounts. This is the thing I hate most. Going over me expenses, which I write daily, summing it in a tablet and see what is my balance, how much money I need per month, how much can I spend and what expanse I should cut. But I have to do so, in order to monitor my flow, and also – to know how much I should price my work. And since people are waiting for my price offer, I have to do it quickly.
I also went down to Karmiel to buy few long sleeve shirts (I have only three shirts available, and this is not enough) an armchair. Since we moved here I do not have an armchair to sit and read. In the last few years, I read mostly while walking on the stepper, but the stepper here is too low to do that. I have no place to put a book on it, so I can only listen to classical music and think.
Reading is a must for me, so now I will have a nice cozy armchair in my study, where I will be able to sit and read.
The afternoon was unpleasant. Daniel shouted a lot, concerning anything, Michael Whimpered. He wanted chocolate milk and then something, not sweet such as toffee:) When I told him to stop asking for sweets, he asked for a yogurt with cereals, as if those are sugarless. I gave it to him and then he asked for a pizza.
I really didn’t want to go out for a pizza, but he was so frustrated that I left them at my neighbor’s and went to the near pizza place, in the village, to order one.
Until the messenger brought the pizza here, I sowed yellow beans and green beans and green pies and fewer. After supper, I took out my childhood photo album and showed them myself as a baby, an infant, a pupil and a teenager. This gave them a good perspective of human life and the cycle of life, with no farther explanations.
It did not take long after supper that they fell asleep. Only then I realized that they shouted and whimpered because they were extremely tired.

Another flower in my garden.

I still can not write, and I must get back to writing. I have only 10 days before the beginning of the semester, in which I teach 6 workshops of creative writing. in which around 80 students will participate. I will have to read 80 writing assignments per week. During such a burdened time I can hardly lift my pen.
This is the reason I began my crowdfunding campaign in the first place. The more courses I teach, the more books I edit, the fewer books I can write. There is only 1 day left for you to help me gain some more writing time, here.
Tonight, before sleep, I talked to Michael about homonyms. “You know, Michael, certain words in Hebrew are being written and sound exactly the same, but they have few different meanings. For example, Gil. Gil in Hebrew means how old you are, but it also means happiness. Another example is Ir. It stands for ‘a city’ but also for ‘an angel.’ And you know what Af is?
“yes’ of course,” he said, “It is a snout.”
I looked at him amazed. Where did he pick this word from?
“You are right,” I said, “A snout is a beautiful word. But Af in Hebrew means wrath as well.”
He murmured something and fell asleep, holding my hand.
Thanks,
Ilan.

Headache

ק

Michal, Daniel and Matan having a late morning pizza snack.

I woke up with it. This feeling that all the veins and capillaries are blocked, in my temples, in my forehead, behind my eyes, inside my nose, in my neck. Drinking coffee didn’t help, neither 20 minutes of aerobic, which usually is sufficient to make it go away.
I usually get it when I sleep more then 5 hours at night, as I did today. But in such cases the Gym makes it disappear. Today it didn’t. I think this headache is caused by my allergy and/or the anti-histamines I take.

I worked in my garden all morning. In the sun. Maybe this too has something to do with it. I worked hard, using a rake to remove all the sawdust from the earth, in order to expose the rich Terra Rossa soil in which I will sow vegetables tomorrow. I then set more droppers, counted all the droppers’ lines in the different parts of my yard, and planed, in writing, what will I sow and where.
In the afternoon, after a rest, I worked in a certain public matter I can not disclose yet. I read a lot of material until my eyes burnt. In between, I had some free time with Michael, in which he worked on Grandpa’s booklet for pre-school kids, and with Daniel, who gave me a wonderful speech.
“Dad, Stop telling us not to do mischief,” he said, “we are children, and children play.”
They had Matan, a friend here most of the day. I told them to stop doing mischief when the chased each other with the garden’s new water pipe or hit each other on the trampoline. In the end, when I saw that they are too tired, and thus with loose borders, I sent Matan home, to be safe. Daniel has explained to me that this is wrong.
Michael was so tired that he fell asleep at 16.30. I tried to wake him up in vain. By 18.30 I have succeeded, took them both upstairs into a great bubble bath, gave them supper, read them the story about the king of China and the nightingale, and put them to sleep.
Tomorrow I go to Jerusalem, to give a short lecture on the research I did for my novel, “A Tale of a Ring'” at Beit Avichay. I will stay in Ramat Hasharon, while my father will be here since I have a meeting at Tel Aviv in Munday morning.
It’s very hard for me to leave my boys for a night. I did it only once since they were born. I might come back home and then go down to Tel Aviv the day after, only because I want to see my boys in the morning before I go out again.
In five more days, my crowdfunding campaign will end. Since I got only 14% of my target, I would like to ask you to share this post on your social networks, and help me in making a life change – more writing time, instead of editing and teaching time.
Thanks,
Ilan.

A Short Long Day

This beautiful Narcissus just sprung out at the middle of my vegetables garden. Such are nature’s delights here.

I will tell you a secret. Every night, since the age of 45, since I had a catheterization of the heart, I have to wait 30 minutes before going to sleep. This is so, because I take aspirin at night, together with my Q-10 and Magnesium pills. I quit statins half a year ago since they have ruined my muscles. I can hardly walk, and this is the reason for the q-10 and Magnesium pills, and also for my naturopathic treatment.
However, this gives me a daily time slot of 30 minutes to write my daily post.
I can hardly write now. My eyes burn. Last night I started to set up my woocommerce store on this blog and didn’t finish it until 01.00 a.m. I went to sleep and found that both Daniel and Michael woke up in the middle of the night. It took us almost an hour to go back to sleep.
I hoped to get a nice siesta today, but could not sleep at all. Maybe it is because of the coffee I had, maybe it’s because of my allergy, which gives me a hard time now. however, I went out of home at 16.30 by car, with my kids, to my father’s house. It took us 1.30 hours. We had a family Friday gathering and supper, and at 21.00, I was the first of my brothers to say goodbye and drive back home.
The boys fell asleep in the car. I was smart enough to give them a shower at my father’s place and put on their pajamas. But I had to drive home carefully.
I stopped twice. Once to buy me a huge strong coffee, and then to stretch myself and smoke a cigarette out of the car. This way I don’t fall asleep while driving. I also put on music, air-condition and wet my face if I feel I should do so.
The kids are already in bed, all the things we took in the car are back in place. The only thing that is left in the baggage is three boxes of The Bible Explained and a series of Encyclopedia for children, that I got from Merav and Dani, My best friend sister and husband. I will unpack it tomorrow and prepare it for the kids. They will start school next year, and I want them to be prepared for that.
This was a short long day. I did edit a nice portion of a book today, cleaned the house and had this trip to my father’s place and back. naturally, I could not write today. But I am happy to know that tomorrow we will wake up at home, here, amidst the peaceful views of the Galilee.
This is the final week for my crowdfunding campaign. Please feel free to support it. Thanks,
Ilan.

The Best Deal Ever

Michael, a 5.5 years old superb photographer, took this portrait of his brother Daniel today.

Today I have probably done the best deal ever.  I changed my latest novel, “The Wife of a Jewish Pirate” for two very nice portions of homemade goat cheeses. Such a barter deal is old as humankind. It is possible when one’s need meets the need of another.
Shahar and Avirama have a goat house in Tuval. Every morning Shahar takes out the goats to eat. But as he explained to me he chooses their rout, according to the needs of the community. His goats eat wild bushes that need to be deforested, trees that must be trimmed, thorns and weeds. By that, they contribute to the balancing of nature here. The goats produce excellent organic compost, which we all come and take and spread it in our kitchen garden. And now I got to taste the fantastic cheese Schahar makes out of their milk.
Avirama asked me for a signed copy of my latest novel as a present for her sister. She asked how much it costs. I gave her a special price, and then had this idea of a barter. Since our neighbor naturalist highly recommended that I will eat goat cheese in general, and especially Shahar’s hard goat cheese, I offered her a deal. I will give her a signed copy of my latest novel (for which I pay as well), for a portion of cheese for the same price.
She came in this evening with a delicious cheese. I took a slice, put it into my mouth and it really tastes like heaven. I could taste the grass and salt and land, smell the goats and feel the special aroma of an aging cheese.
It took me five years to write this book, I will make my best to prolong my delight with their goat cheeses, as well.

Today was a happy day for more reasons. I had a medical checkup of my throat with an optical fiber, and I am just fine. The aching in my throat is not cancer, thank God, it is only a side effect of my reflux. In order to reduce the reflux, I should quit coffee and cigarettes. I will try to do it again soon.
I also got 20 packages of winter vegetable seeds to sow my garden with. So tomorrow I will get up early and spend some time in cultivating my garden and sawing a wonderful array of vegetables. I want my kitchen garden to Explode with abundance, and I will probably get it, due to my labor, the richness of the soil here and the rain.
I also wrote two poems today and worked on several others, and I could do all that with the help of the wonderful charlady I asked to come in, and she did.
The best of it all was our weekly football training. As usual, I took Michael and Daniel to the local sports ground and meant to stay there, watching them play.
“Dad,” said Daniel, “you do not have to stay with us. You can go home and come to take us back when the lesson is over.”
I was truly amazed and proud.
“I do not want it so much,” said Michael, “But I want the house to be tidy when we come back home. So go home. Dad.”
And that’s what I did.
But I came 15 minutes before the lesson ended, to see my boys training and film them as well.
If you like my posts you might want to back me in my writing journey, at https://www.mimoona.co.il/Projects/4206.
Ilan.

Marketing Writing

Marketing writing might seem like an oxymoron. No one can market the writing experience, and no writer needs it as a potential customer of writing. But this is what I did today, twice.
I woke up at 04.30 a.m, wrote my nighty morning pages and then went out to the kitchen garden to pick a nice bundle of chard leaves. I cleaned it and baked a chard pie for my students. Each time a writing course comes to an end, we celebrate it. Each of the participants brings a new piece of writing to read – and something to eat. I am included.
My boys woke up and I treated them and then took them to the kindergarten via the village of Dir Al Asad. We ran off their favorite dairy products, and I didn’t want to leave home to Tel Aviv, without preparing their goodies for their afternoon free time with Grandpa.
I then went to a short aerobic session in the Gym and took the train to Tel Aviv. I met one of my oldest students in the train station of Azrieli, where we sat and discussed his writing project.
It was quite astonishing for me to find out that this fine man and author still hesitate between telling the truth, the actual facts of his life – of which he knows very little, and that is the reason he began writing in the first place – and telling a fiction.
I have assured him that there is no conflict between the two, that actually he needs both sides of the writing spectrum, in order to finish his book.
“Since you have black holes in your story, you have to invent things and insert it into your actual frame of life as you know it.”
I then showed him the tablet I have prepared for myself, in order to write my next historical novel. “You see, I have divided the known chronological occurrences in the life of my protagonist year after year. I know the actual facts. But I invent all the rest – his personal traits, his motives, his feelings and thoughts, and the same goes with the antagonists and the minor characters as well.”

In the afternoon I met with the students who finished their first semester in creative writing. Before the lesson begun I conversed with few of them. They asked me questions such as – how can I choose one out of three possible writing projects? Do I have the right to write a family story in which I have been involving, despite the fact that I am no more a part of this family? Should I continue writing? Should I attend the next semester as well?
Because of this, I didn’t begin the final lesson as I usually do – with a session of free writing – but with a conversation and a short lecture I gave them on the essence of the creative act.
” I can not force you into writing. I can only show you the charm and magic of the writing process, its beauty and pain, its moments of happiness and of despair, its peaks and its abyss. Some of you came into my class with no intention to write a book, and now, after 12 lessons, consider to do so; some of you took this course as quality time or as a personal treat, and were amazed to find out that writing is much more than that – It is a way of living, a tool of deconstruction and of evolving and of growth. I can tell you only one thing. If you want to write, then write. Do it daily, take it as a daily task, attend your desk as a clerk does, and do not wait for the muse nor inflate yourselves with the notion of ‘being a writer.’ If I would sit at my desk, full of my self, as ‘the writer of the best sellers,’ I wouldn’t be able to write a word. I go to my desk as I go to the Gym, to do another one of my daily tasks. This commitment gives me the assurance that I will write my next novel. This – and the pile of pages I compile and accumulate in an office binder. As a clerk does,” I said and showed them the binder I took with me all the way from the Galilee to Tel Aviv, so that I will be able to edit it on my way. “With this in hand I am invincible,” I smiled, thanked them for their trust in me, as their writing creative teacher and left class.
Tomorrow I have another final meeting with a group of students who meet at my house. I then have 14 days for my own writing, and after that, a new semester begins, with 4-6 new groups of students, who enlisted themselves to my course, without knowing how deep they will shorty dive.

You might, if you want, give me some writing time of my own staff, by backing up my crowdfunding campaign, which will end in 9 days.

Thanks,
Ilan.

 

Love Comes Before Writing

I didn’t write a post yesterday, due to passion. I had another meeting with a charming guy, whom I was eager to meet. And after we have made love we sat and talked for hours. I could not write after that, not only because it was late at night. But because I had a lot to think about.
Living in the Galilee, which is a Jewish-Arab region, summons great challenges.

This day was the first day after the end of the holiday’s vacation. I spent most of it in typing two notebooks, in which I wrote a lot of staff during the last few months, but forgot what I wrote. while doing so, I got amazed. I had no clue that I got so deep into the psyche of my protagonist nor developed his narrative so much. Since I type extremely fast, I will have to go over it again, to correct my tipos. This will give me another chance to read it again and will initiate more writing.
My aim is to complete typing all the material I wrote during the last six months. I have much more notebooks to type, and few hundred pages I wrote on my typing machine. When I will finish that, I will have the first draft of my next novel in hand.
I will then go into more research, concerning different stages in my plot, and will plan my research trip to South America accordingly. Until then, I have already ordered three reference books from Amazon, and am eager to read them.
Writing in general, and writing a historical novel in particular, involves much work and effort, but this is the best thing I do in my life, except being a parent and a teacher of creative writing.
If you are interested, you can still back up my work in my crowdfunding campaign at https://www.mimoona.co.il/Projects/4206

The campaign will end in 10 days. But my creative spirit remains.

Yours,
Ilan.