For me, the game would be to assume a very intelligent reader who can extrapolate a lot from a little. And that's… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
I've found that my first drafts are not so special. But the more I work on them, the better they get. They… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
The writer has to make pleasure for the reader - which, I think, is done by taking one's character's seriously and taking… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
The greatest thing about writing a book is that at first it's all inchoate, but the more you work on it, the… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
I think that tri [to Ram Bahadur Bomjon] was the first time I'd even seen something that made me think, or really… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
The only thing I might have noticed [and this is pretty anecdotal] is that there is some tendency to need to be… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
Our first responsibility in all things is to preserve our goodness of heart - then and only then act. — George Saunders Copy Share Image
It's a little like packing for a trip. First you lay out everything that might possibly be useful, with no thought about… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
As a writer I'm essentially just trying to impersonate a first-time reader, who picks up the story and has to decide, at… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
From across the woods, as if by common accord, birds left their trees and darted upward. I joined them, flew amount them,… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
What evil does first in the world, maybe, is distract us from our pursuit of goodness. — George Saunders Copy Share Image
Your first responsibility is to yourself and to your own goodness of heart. — George Saunders Copy Share Image
Later, I went one step further, by putting in some invented "historical" bits [into the Lincoln in the Bardo]. And reading those… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
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 Copy Share Image
“Wow wow wow is all I can say! Remember how I always buy lunchtime Scratch-Off ticket? Have I said? Maybe did not say? Well,… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
“None of it was real; nothing was real. Everything was real; inconceivably real, infinitely dear. These and all things started as nothing, latent within… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
“We must see God not as a Him (some linear rewarding fellow) but an IT, a great beast beyond our understanding, who wants something… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
America, to me, should be shouting all the time, a bunch of shouting voices, most of them wrong, some of them nuts, but please,… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
In my case, when I am trying to be "kind" I often default in a sort of toothless loving-all stance that is, actually, not… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
Whatever your supposed politics are - left, right - if you put it in a human connection, most people will rise to the occasion… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
“A Clinton staffer tells me his theory. Think about Frank Sinatra, he says: born to sing. Think about Willie Mays: born to play ball.… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish. — George Saunders Copy Share Image
“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
What America is, to me, is a guy doesn't want to buy, you let him not buy, you respect his not buying. A guy… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
![“I think that tri [to Ram Bahadur Bomjon] was the first time I'd even seen something that made me think, or really feel: "Ah, I don't know what's really going on in the world - I think I do, and it feels like I do, but whatever is really going on is, de facto, beyond the scope of my comprehension…” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bc3/george-saunders-317_can-do_i-think-that-tri-to-ram-bahadur-bomjon-w_1355843.jpg)
![“The only thing I might have noticed [and this is pretty anecdotal] is that there is some tendency to need to be taught that 'writing is rewriting' - maybe more of a sense than was pervasive 10 years ago that the first or second pass of a story is sufficient. That is an idea that is easily…” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/249/george-saunders-317_blogging_the-only-thing-i-might-have-noticed-and_2019915.jpg)
![“Later, I went one step further, by putting in some invented "historical" bits [into the Lincoln in the Bardo]. And reading those alongside the actual historical bits was like looking into a sort of a painful mirror, because "my" parts were so show-offy at first. They stood out because they were so…” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/654/george-saunders-317_bits_later-i-went-one-step-further-by-putting_3138349.jpg)
