Quotessence
Home / Authors / George Saunders
George Saunders

George Saunders Quotes

Writer

Filter quotes by topic

AllWritingIfsThinkingWayTryingKindPeopleStoriesKnowsFeelsLittlesFictionIdeasBookWorldKindnessPersonsReaderRealBelieve

Famous George Saunders Quotes

“On a more technical level, a story takes a lot of words. And to generate words and phrases and images and so on, that will compel the reader to continue reading - that stand a chance of really grabbing a reader - the writer has to work out of a place of, let's say, familiarity and affection. The matrix of the story has to be made out of stuff the writer really knows about and likes. The writer can't be stretching and (purely) inventing all the time. Well, I can't, anyway.”

KnowsWellsMadeI CanStoriesReadingStuffChanceLevelsReaderAffectionWork OutLikesPhrasesFamiliarityStretchingInventingGrabbing
Author:George Saunders
Create image

“There are some things fundamentally off about the stance of the book. And maybe that's okay; maybe every book is flawed, and great books, as flawed as they might be, articulate a moral argument that the reader then carries forward. The critique to this model is, of course, to ask: Should a book be ever so perfect that you come out of it with complete moral agreement that can be sustained?”

ShouldBookMightCoursesAsksPerfectMoralReaderModelsArgumentOkayAgreementCarrieFlawedCritiqueStanceGreat Book
Author:George Saunders
Create image

“If you understand writing as primarily engaging an imaginary reader, well, you've kind of been doing that your whole life. You walk into a room and you're engaging with imaginary strangers because you don't actually know who they are. For me, it was really empowering to say: this is a branch of entertainment and communication and engagement, as opposed to jumping over some perceived literary high bar. That was the buzzkill.”

IfsKnowsWritingWellsKindWholeWalksRoomsCommunicationReaderEntertainmentStrangerWhole LifeBarsBranchesEmpoweringEngagementImaginaryEngagingJumping
Author:George Saunders
Create image

“Now I began to understand art as a kind of black box the reader enters. He enters in one state of mind and exits in another. The writer gets no points just because what's inside the box bears some linear resemblance to "real life" -- he can put whatever he wants in there. What's important is that something undeniable and nontrivial happens to the reader between entry and exit.”

WantMindKindArtImportantRealStatesHappensBlackBearsReaderBoxesReal LifeState Of MindNo PointExitEntryWhat's ImportantLinearResemblanceBlack Boxes
Book:The Brain-Dead Megaphone
Create image