The task is not primarily to have a story, but to penetrate the story, to discard the elements of it that are merely shell, or husk, that give apparent form to the story, but actually obscure the essence. In other words, the problem is to transcend the givens of a narrative.
Deborah EisenbergI don't think things are ever exactly the way one expects, and I don't think things are ever the way one assumes they are at the moment. What I actually think is that one has no idea of what things are like, ever.
Deborah EisenbergI always thought of writing as holy. I still do. Itโs not something to be approached casually.
Deborah EisenbergWhen one writes, thereโs the double horror of discovering not only what it is that one so fears but also the triviality of that fear.
Deborah EisenbergYou write something and thereโs no reality to it. You canโt inject it with any kind of reality. You have to be patient and keep going, and then, one day, you can feel something signaling to you from the innermost recesses. Like a little person trapped under the rubble of an earthquake. And very, very, very slowly you find your way toward the little bit of living impulse.
Deborah Eisenberg