At the Rietveld Academy, I was taught by Wim Brands. In one of his first lessons, he gave us a few rules.
 

         He said, Don’t try to laugh, because it looks so stupid.

         He also said, You have to learn how to steer before you fly off on a tangent.

         And he also told us to never write about our cat. Or indeed about any cat.                                                                              

My characters are always looking for something, for love, for god, or for what binds people together. They always want to know everything, and that gets in the way of their well-being. When you are in love, you have to make statements about your identity, who you are, and who you want to become together. For me that’s difficult and binding. I think that when you let go of all those ideas you will experience reality more deeply. My book is a free fall, something intangible.