“I've always loved musical theatre. I've always been a big kind of closeted musical theatre nerd. I really have always dreamed about being able to do musical theatre.” KindBigsAbleMusicalTheatreNerdMusical Theatre Author:John Gallagher, Jr.
“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.” WantedSidesRiskGrewGrew UpSouthChicago Author:George Saunders
“I read Rand and thought, "I want to be one of the earth movers, the scientific people who power the world. I don't want to be one of these lisping liberal artsy leeches." So I was working against my actual abilities.” PeopleWorldWantEarthAbilityLiberal ArtsLeeches Author:George Saunders
“Every writer knows that when you're imitating somebody - you know, you're sounding like Faulkner - you're doing pretty good, but your life in Hoboken isn't Faulkneresque.” KnowsImitatingHoboken Author:George Saunders
“In a sense my whole life as a writer is trying to find structural ways, or formal ways, to permit that outflowing so it doesn't just look like crazy output. In other words, if it turns out that you can do a given voice, that's just kind of inclination. But then if you can find a way to put that voice in a story so that the voice serves a purpose, then I would say that's being a writer.” IfsWayTryingLooksKindWholeStoriesPurposeTurnsGivenVoiceCan DoCrazyWhole LifePermitFormalInclinationOutput Author:George Saunders
“I haven't written a novel or something that long, because I really am improvising all along and the story is growing new limbs to do what it needs to do. So there's very little planning. There's a little planning where I say, "Well, it looks like I'm going in this direction, ok, good." But there's very little forethought or intellectual justification: "Oh, look, I'm putting in a theme park because that represents dystopian America!"” NeedsWellsLooksLittlesLongStoriesAmericaNovelGrowingWrittenHavensIntellectualPlanningParksThemeJustificationDystopianLimbsImprovisingForethoughtTheme Parks Author:George Saunders
“Whenever you talk about writing I think you have to remember that it all has a big question mark over it - every word has a big question mark over it.” ThinkingWritingBigsRememberMarkOver ItBig QuestionsQuestion Mark Author:George Saunders