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George Saunders Quotes

My habit would have been to veer towards the dark - to prove I was something; edgy, or maybe to prove that I was cognisant of the dark side. Now, with age and confidence, I can say, yeah, that’s true, but I am cognisant of the fact that people can do things well. And can be more loving than you expect Picture Quote #1

We have that illusion that we are ‘deciding’ what to make a character do, in order to ‘convey our message’ or something like that. But, at least in my experience, you are often more like a river-rafting guide who’s been paid a bonus to purposely steer your clients into the roughest possible water Picture Quote #1

What I’m primarily saying,’ he says, ‘is that this is a time for knowledge assimilation, not backstabbing. We learned a lesson, you and I. We personally grew. Gratitude for this growth is an appropriate response. Gratitude, and being careful never to make the same mistake twice Picture Quote #1

What good the prophet in the wilderness may do is incremental and personal. It’s good for us to hear someone speak the irrational truth. It’s good for us when, in spite of all of the sober, pragmatic, and even correct arguments that war is sometimes necessary someone says: war is large-scale murder, us at our worst, the stupidest guy doing the cruelest thing to the weakest being Picture Quote #1

This may be the one clear truth of the so-called border issue: Put a poor country next to a rich one and watch which way the traffic flows. Add impediments, the traffic endeavors to flow around them. Eilimate disparity. the traffic stops Picture Quote #1

More and more these days what I find myself doing in my stories is making a representation of goodness and a representation of evil and then having those two run at each other full-speed, like a couple of PeeWee football players, to see what happens. Who stays standing? Whose helmet goes flying off? Picture Quote #1

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When I’m explaining something to you, if I’m being long-winded, and twisty in a non-productive way, I could make you feel vaguely insulted. And you’d have a right to be Picture Quote #1

I turned 54 this year and I find myself feeling like I’m in a bit of a race to get down on paper the way I really feel about life - or the way it has presented to me. And because it has presented to me very beautifully, this is hard. It is technically very hard to show positive manifestations Picture Quote #1

I was a big and un-ironic fan of Dear Abby when I was a kid in Chicago. I think I sort of internalized her. So I have this inner Abby: cranky, proper, folksy yet scathing, with a beehive hairdo. But that’s my issue Picture Quote #1

I was a straight arrow, a control freak. I didn’t do drugs or drink, and this was the 70s. I didn’t like the loss of control. Which isn’t exactly right, because I didn’t know what happened when you did drugs Picture Quote #1

I wasted a lot of years working on my writing and very grandly saying, ‘And now... My Novel!,’ which would soon be reduced to a short story, then to a paragraph Picture Quote #1

I grew up in Chicago on the South Side, and had a ton of freedom, just did whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. At the risk of sounding dopey, I would say it was blissful Picture Quote #1

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I’m not a big fan of my books going on cross-country road trips. They get arrogant and, next thing, start aspiring to become ‘large-print’ books. I say, let them stay home and be regular small-print books Picture Quote #1

It’s not fiction’s job to be photographically representative of reality. If I want to make a fictional world where there’s no kindness, this doesn’t mean I believe there’s no kindness in the real world. In fact, what it may mean is that I very much value kindness. Like if you make a painting in which only greens are allowed, it wouldn’t mean you don’t believe in blue Picture Quote #1

To me, the process of writing is just reading what I’ve written and - like running your hand over one of those mod glass stovetops to find where the heat is - looking for where the energy is in the prose, then going in the direction of that. It’s an exercise in being open to whatever is there Picture Quote #1

Don’t be afraid to be confused. Try to remain permanently confused. Anything is possible Picture Quote #1

Even when the faith goes away, there’s that space where you crave something bigger than yourself. For me, that’s kind of where art came in, after that Picture Quote #1

When something really bad is going on in a culture, the average guy doesn’t see it. He can’t. He’s average and is surrounded by and immersed in the can’t and discourse of the status quo Picture Quote #1

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If I can be more efficient, I’m actually being more respectful to the reader, which then implies a greater intimacy with the reader Picture Quote #1

It blew my mind, reading Swing Time, that I could take any sentence in the book, and it was one of the most beautiful sentences written in English Picture Quote #1

The best thing that ever happened to me is that nothing happened in writing. I ended up working for engineering companies, and that’s where I found my material, in the everyday struggle between capitalism and grace. Being broke and tired, you don’t come home your best self Picture Quote #1

Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you’re not careful, it will take up your whole life Picture Quote #1

I do find the values in A Christmas Carol significant. It is important not to be mean and stingy and not to give up love for money Picture Quote #1

The one thing about A Christmas Carol that always bothers me is that Cratchit is so sweet and perfect. He’s like an Ivy League kid who just is labeled poor. He doesn’t have any bad habits. He’s never cranky with his kids Picture Quote #1

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I could actually care less about the poor. We have some living near us, and pee-yew. They are always coming and going to their three or four jobs at all hours of the day and night. Annoying! Picture Quote #1

For me, the game would be to assume a very intelligent reader who can extrapolate a lot from a little. And that’s become my definition of art; to get that pitch just right, where I can put a hint on page three, and the reader’s ears go up a bit, as opposed to dropping it all on the first page Picture Quote #1

There’s not a lot of whimsicality in the form, not a lot of indulgence allowed. Like when I was younger, I would sometimes go, Oh, every other section will be narrated by a chair. Or, It will be a double helix shape! That never really worked Picture Quote #1

I guess what I’m trying to say is that whatever weirdness was going to be in there, I felt, had to be earned. And it had to be required by the emotional needs of the book Picture Quote #1

She’s sweet but too apocalyptic. You try kissing someone good-night who’s just told you for the umpteenth time that the world’s experiencing its last disgusting paroxysm before Rapture Picture Quote #1

Toni Morrison seems to have a lot of faith in people - that’s what I mean by gentle power Picture Quote #1

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My habit would have been to veer towards the dark - to prove I was something; edgy, or maybe to prove that I was cognisant of the dark side. Now, with age and confidence, I can say, yeah, that’s true, but I am cognisant of the fact that people can do things well. And can be more loving than you expect (George Saunders Quotes) We have that illusion that we are ‘deciding’ what to make a character do, in order to ‘convey our message’ or something like that. But, at least in my experience, you are often more like a river-rafting guide who’s been paid a bonus to purposely steer your clients into the roughest possible water (George Saunders Quotes) What I’m primarily saying,’ he says, ‘is that this is a time for knowledge assimilation, not backstabbing. We learned a lesson, you and I. We personally grew. Gratitude for this growth is an appropriate response. Gratitude, and being careful never to make the same mistake twice (George Saunders Quotes) What good the prophet in the wilderness may do is incremental and personal. It’s good for us to hear someone speak the irrational truth. It’s good for us when, in spite of all of the sober, pragmatic, and even correct arguments that war is sometimes necessary someone says: war is large-scale murder, us at our worst, the stupidest guy doing the cruelest thing to the weakest being (George Saunders Quotes) This may be the one clear truth of the so-called border issue: Put a poor country next to a rich one and watch which way the traffic flows. Add impediments, the traffic endeavors to flow around them. Eilimate disparity. the traffic stops (George Saunders Quotes) More and more these days what I find myself doing in my stories is making a representation of goodness and a representation of evil and then having those two run at each other full-speed, like a couple of PeeWee football players, to see what happens. Who stays standing? Whose helmet goes flying off? (George Saunders Quotes) When I’m explaining something to you, if I’m being long-winded, and twisty in a non-productive way, I could make you feel vaguely insulted. And you’d have a right to be (George Saunders Quotes) I turned 54 this year and I find myself feeling like I’m in a bit of a race to get down on paper the way I really feel about life - or the way it has presented to me. And because it has presented to me very beautifully, this is hard. It is technically very hard to show positive manifestations (George Saunders Quotes) I was a big and un-ironic fan of Dear Abby when I was a kid in Chicago. I think I sort of internalized her. So I have this inner Abby: cranky, proper, folksy yet scathing, with a beehive hairdo. But that’s my issue (George Saunders Quotes) I was a straight arrow, a control freak. I didn’t do drugs or drink, and this was the 70s. I didn’t like the loss of control. Which isn’t exactly right, because I didn’t know what happened when you did drugs (George Saunders Quotes) I wasted a lot of years working on my writing and very grandly saying, ‘And now... My Novel!,’ which would soon be reduced to a short story, then to a paragraph (George Saunders Quotes) I grew up in Chicago on the South Side, and had a ton of freedom, just did whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. At the risk of sounding dopey, I would say it was blissful (George Saunders Quotes) I’m not a big fan of my books going on cross-country road trips. They get arrogant and, next thing, start aspiring to become ‘large-print’ books. I say, let them stay home and be regular small-print books (George Saunders Quotes) It’s not fiction’s job to be photographically representative of reality. If I want to make a fictional world where there’s no kindness, this doesn’t mean I believe there’s no kindness in the real world. In fact, what it may mean is that I very much value kindness. Like if you make a painting in which only greens are allowed, it wouldn’t mean you don’t believe in blue (George Saunders Quotes) To me, the process of writing is just reading what I’ve written and - like running your hand over one of those mod glass stovetops to find where the heat is - looking for where the energy is in the prose, then going in the direction of that. It’s an exercise in being open to whatever is there (George Saunders Quotes) Don’t be afraid to be confused. Try to remain permanently confused. Anything is possible. (George Saunders Quotes) Even when the faith goes away, there’s that space where you crave something bigger than yourself. For me, that’s kind of where art came in, after that. (George Saunders Quotes) When something really bad is going on in a culture, the average guy doesn’t see it. He can’t. He’s average and is surrounded by and immersed in the can’t and discourse of the status quo. (George Saunders Quotes) If I can be more efficient, I’m actually being more respectful to the reader, which then implies a greater intimacy with the reader. (George Saunders Quotes) It blew my mind, reading Swing Time, that I could take any sentence in the book, and it was one of the most beautiful sentences written in English. (George Saunders Quotes) The best thing that ever happened to me is that nothing happened in writing. I ended up working for engineering companies, and that’s where I found my material, in the everyday struggle between capitalism and grace. Being broke and tired, you don’t come home your best self. (George Saunders Quotes) Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you’re not careful, it will take up your whole life. (George Saunders Quotes) I do find the values in A Christmas Carol significant. It is important not to be mean and stingy and not to give up love for money. (George Saunders Quotes) The one thing about A Christmas Carol that always bothers me is that Cratchit is so sweet and perfect. He’s like an Ivy League kid who just is labeled poor. He doesn’t have any bad habits. He’s never cranky with his kids. (George Saunders Quotes) I could actually care less about the poor. We have some living near us, and pee-yew. They are always coming and going to their three or four jobs at all hours of the day and night. Annoying! (George Saunders Quotes) For me, the game would be to assume a very intelligent reader who can extrapolate a lot from a little. And that’s become my definition of art; to get that pitch just right, where I can put a hint on page three, and the reader’s ears go up a bit, as opposed to dropping it all on the first page. (George Saunders Quotes) There’s not a lot of whimsicality in the form, not a lot of indulgence allowed. Like when I was younger, I would sometimes go, Oh, every other section will be narrated by a chair. Or, It will be a double helix shape! That never really worked. (George Saunders Quotes) I guess what I’m trying to say is that whatever weirdness was going to be in there, I felt, had to be earned. And it had to be required by the emotional needs of the book. (George Saunders Quotes) She’s sweet but too apocalyptic. You try kissing someone good-night who’s just told you for the umpteenth time that the world’s experiencing its last disgusting paroxysm before Rapture. (George Saunders Quotes) Toni Morrison seems to have a lot of faith in people - that’s what I mean by gentle power (George Saunders Quotes)

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