---
title: "33 Littles Quotes By George Saunders"
description: "33 Littles quotes by George Saunders. Plus more from George Saunders and more Littles sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/george-saunders-317_bits_i-m-very-happy-if-i-can-do-even-a-little_1922133.jpg"
---

> [I'm very happy - if I can do even a little bit of work to get the short story out more, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-m-very-happy-if-i-can-do-even-a-little-bit-of-work-to-get-the-short/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/george-saunders-317_bits_i-m-very-happy-if-i-can-do-even-a-little_1922133.jpg)

> [So here's something I know to be true, although it's a little corny, and I don't quite know what to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/so-here-s-something-i-know-to-be-true-although-it-s-a-little-corny/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/george-saunders-317_advice_so-here-s-something-i-know-to-be-true-al_2014109.jpg)

> [I have this tendency to take a little bit of questionable knowledge and riff on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-have-this-tendency-to-take-a-little-bit-of-questionable-knowledge/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/george-saunders-317_bits_i-have-this-tendency-to-take-a-little-bi_2028583.jpg)

> [I have nothing. My model is I have nothing figured out, and I'm starting with some little nugget and hoping that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-have-nothing-my-model-is-i-have-nothing-figured-out-and-i-m/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fb/george-saunders-317_enough_i-have-nothing-my-model-is-i-have-nothin_1157751.jpg)

> [Twitter is a deliberate abstention. Somehow I hate the idea of there always being, in the back of my mind, this little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/twitter-is-a-deliberate-abstention-somehow-i-hate-the-idea-of-there/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/george-saunders-317_abstention_twitter-is-a-deliberate-abstention-someh_1473244.jpg)

> [I have a lot of theories about the beneficial effects of fiction, but I'm always trying to get away from them a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-have-a-lot-of-theories-about-the-beneficial-effects-of-fiction-but/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/george-saunders-317_always-trying_i-have-a-lot-of-theories-about-the-benef_3198322.jpg)

> [ \[Reading Swing Time\] made me a feel a little bit like when I used to read David \[Foster\] Wallace. Like, "I can't… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/reading-swing-time-made-me-a-feel-a-little-bit-like-when-i-used-to/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/george-saunders-317_bits_reading-swing-time-made-me-a-feel-a-litt_3144845.jpg)

> [When I'm not writing, I tend to get depressed and a little bit surly. And then when I'm writing, suddenly I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/when-i-m-not-writing-i-tend-to-get-depressed-and-a-little-bit-surly/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8c/george-saunders-317_bits_when-i-m-not-writing-i-tend-to-get-depre_1634653.jpg)

> [I started out in engineering. I was a geophysical engineer. Throughout the course of my life I've done a lot of strange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-started-out-in-engineering-i-was-a-geophysical-engineer-throughout/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/george-saunders-317_capitalist_i-started-out-in-engineering-i-was-a-geo_1675680.jpg)

> [Just through the process of trying to make the living and the dead feel real, all these little benefits came out. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/just-through-the-process-of-trying-to-make-the-living-and-the-dead/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/617/george-saunders-317_believe_just-through-the-process-of-trying-to-ma_1909450.jpg)

> [The one thing fiction and non-fiction writing have in common for me is that sense of trying to get the sentences to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/the-one-thing-fiction-and-non-fiction-writing-have-in-common-for-me/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/327/george-saunders-317_common_the-one-thing-fiction-and-non-fiction-wr_911917.jpg)

> [If I go to the coffee shop and have a nice interaction with the barista, I don't know what that does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/if-i-go-to-the-coffee-shop-and-have-a-nice-interaction-with-the/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/george-saunders-317_assuming_if-i-go-to-the-coffee-shop-and-have-a-ni_3072556.jpg)

> [It's a little like packing for a trip. First you lay out everything that might possibly be useful, with no thought about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/it-s-a-little-like-packing-for-a-trip-first-you-lay-out-everything/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/george-saunders-317_cases_it-s-a-little-like-packing-for-a-trip-fi_2570952.jpg)

> [For me, the game would be to assume a very intelligent reader who can extrapolate a lot from a little. And that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/for-me-the-game-would-be-to-assume-a-very-intelligent-reader-who-can/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/george-saunders-317_art_for-me-the-game-would-be-to-assume-a-ver_334129.jpg)

> [Writing a story I am just trying to find some little interesting thing to start out with: something small, even trivial. Preferably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/writing-a-story-i-am-just-trying-to-find-some-little-interesting/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b0/george-saunders-317_baggage_writing-a-story-i-am-just-trying-to-find_766056.jpg)

> [A sort of fearlessness - the notion that a person could be comfortable with (even interested in) whatever arises. I sure can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-sort-of-fearlessness-the-notion-that-a-person-could-be-comfortable/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/george-saunders-317_arise_a-sort-of-fearlessness-the-notion-that-a_1249503.jpg)

> [I always cheerfully say, "Well, you know, the species is adapting, and whatever it needs to do, it'll do," but I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-always-cheerfully-say-well-you-know-the-species-is-adapting-and/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bac/george-saunders-317_adapting_i-always-cheerfully-say-well-you-know-th_487860.jpg)

> [ I really wanted to be allowed to the \[writer's\] table. So it makes me happy to be at the table. It sounds… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-really-wanted-to-be-allowed-to-the-writer-s-table-so-it-makes-me/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82e/george-saunders-317_attention_i-really-wanted-to-be-allowed-to-the-wri_2675640.jpg)

> [I don't think much new ever happens. Most of us spend our days the same way people spent their days in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-don-t-think-much-new-ever-happens-most-of-us-spend-our-days-the/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/george-saunders-317_beautiful_i-don-t-think-much-new-ever-happens-most_1396123.jpg)

> [I haven't written a novel or something that long, because I really am improvising all along and the story is growing new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-haven-t-written-a-novel-or-something-that-long-because-i-really-am/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/288/george-saunders-317_america_i-haven-t-written-a-novel-or-something-t_2231086.jpg)

> [The weird thing was that I went to Trump rallies thinking I was going to run into militant, right wing, racist people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/the-weird-thing-was-that-i-went-to-trump-rallies-thinking-i-was-going/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa4/george-saunders-317_believe_the-weird-thing-was-that-i-went-to-trump_3128412.jpg)

> [The way I understood purgatory - and maybe you've got a different version - but in Chicago in the '70s, the idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/the-way-i-understood-purgatory-and-maybe-you-ve-got-a-different/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f09/george-saunders-317_chicago_the-way-i-understood-purgatory-and-maybe_2087690.jpg)

> [So for me the approach has become to go into a story not really sure of what I want to say, try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/so-for-me-the-approach-has-become-to-go-into-a-story-not-really-sure/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d87/george-saunders-317_approach_so-for-me-the-approach-has-become-to-go_1763150.jpg)

> [I think about how I conceptualize the audience. The trick is that they've got to be smarter and more worldly than me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-think-about-how-i-conceptualize-the-audience-the-trick-is-that-they/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c65/george-saunders-317_audience_i-think-about-how-i-conceptualize-the-au_1767738.jpg)

> [I have been married to my wife, Paula, for 25 years. We have wonderful kids. Things are - it's been a really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-have-been-married-to-my-wife-paula-for-25-years-we-have-wonderful/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39b/george-saunders-317_has-beens_i-have-been-married-to-my-wife-paula-for_705369.jpg)

> [My stories, I can understand them as a little toy that you wind up and you put it on the floor and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/my-stories-i-can-understand-them-as-a-little-toy-that-you-wind-up-and/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/george-saunders-317_coaches_my-stories-i-can-understand-them-as-a-li_3153263.jpg)

> [I'm a big lover of America. I love the people, but also the weird berms, the strange little high schools tucked away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-m-a-big-lover-of-america-i-love-the-people-but-also-the-weird-berms/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e2/george-saunders-317_america_i-m-a-big-lover-of-america-i-love-the-pe_718134.jpg)

> [It is technically very hard to show positive manifestations. But I can look back at the way I thought and felt even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/it-is-technically-very-hard-to-show-positive-manifestations-but-i-can/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc3/george-saunders-317_felt_it-is-technically-very-hard-to-show-posi_1266489.jpg)

> [Ralph Kramden, as played by Jackie Gleason, was this big bumbling New York City bus driver who was kind of mean and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/ralph-kramden-as-played-by-jackie-gleason-was-this-big-bumbling-new/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/george-saunders-317_big-heart_ralph-kramden-as-played-by-jackie-gleaso_2716745.jpg)

> [I don't like that new age posture where you kind of tilt your head. I don't like that posture right now. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-don-t-like-that-new-age-posture-where-you-kind-of-tilt-your-head-i/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f86/george-saunders-317_age_i-don-t-like-that-new-age-posture-where_2360694.jpg)

> [When you read a short story, you come out a little more aware and a little more in love with the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/when-you-read-a-short-story-you-come-out-a-little-more-aware-and-a/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a04/george-saunders-317_awake_when-you-read-a-short-story-you-come-out_2565170.jpg)

> [In a story, for example, you'll start off with a character who is a little bit of a cartoon. That's not satisfying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-a-story-for-example-you-ll-start-off-with-a-character-who-is-a/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cd/george-saunders-317_bits_in-a-story-for-example-you-ll-start-off_469216.jpg)

> [ There was one sequence of days \[making Lincoln in the Bardo\] when I had halfway decided to use the historical nuggets, but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/there-was-one-sequence-of-days-making-lincoln-in-the-bardo-when-i-had/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/george-saunders-317_arranging_there-was-one-sequence-of-days-making-li_3016056.jpg)

## Other authors on Littles

## More by George Saunders

> [Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/success-is-like-a-mountain-in-front-of-you-that-keeps-growing-if-you/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [“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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/wow-wow-wow-is-all-i-can-say-remember-how-i-always-buy-lunchtime/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [“None of it was real; nothing was real. Everything was real; inconceivably real, infinitely dear. These and all things started as nothing, latent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/none-of-it-was-real-nothing-was-real-everything-was-real/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [“We must see God not as a Him (some linear rewarding fellow) but an IT, a great beast beyond our understanding, who wants something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-must-see-god-not-as-a-him-some-linear-rewarding-fellow-but-an-it-a/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [America, to me, should be shouting all the time, a bunch of shouting voices, most of them wrong, some of them nuts, but please,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/america-to-me-should-be-shouting-all-the-time-a-bunch-of-shouting/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-my-case-when-i-am-trying-to-be-kind-i-often-default-in-a-sort-of/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [Whatever your supposed politics are - left, right - if you put it in a human connection, most people will rise to the occasion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/whatever-your-supposed-politics-are-left-right-if-you-put-it-in-a/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [“A Clinton staffer tells me his theory. Think about Frank Sinatra, he says: born to sing. Think about Willie Mays: born to play ball.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-clinton-staffer-tells-me-his-theory-think-about-frank-sinatra-he/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-try-we-fail-we-posture-we-aspire-we-pontificate-and-then-we-age/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-america-is-to-me-is-a-guy-doesn-t-want-to-buy-you-let-him-not/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [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.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-good-the-prophet-in-the-wilderness-may-do-is-incremental-and/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [We're in the transition between birth and death. But the one that people often know about is the transition between the moment of death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-re-in-the-transition-between-birth-and-death-but-the-one-that/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [You don't want to be that parent - the one who dresses his kid in a cloth sack when all the other kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-be-that-parent-the-one-who-dresses-his-kid-in-a/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

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                        "text": "A sort of fearlessness - the notion that a person could be comfortable with (even interested in) whatever arises. I sure can't do it, but I think all of us have had little glimpse of that power, often when we are really actively loving someone or something and feel that little eradication of self that happens when we are engaged in feeling protective or especially fond of someone else. I associate that feeling with a corresponding clarity of purpose and a disappearance of confusion.",
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                        "text": "I really wanted to be allowed to the [writer's] table. So it makes me happy to be at the table. It sounds a little shallow, but if I imagine the shadow life, where I didn't get that chance, and all the ways my negative inclinations would have bloomed if I hadn't gotten the attention, but also the creative outlet ... I'm not actually that happy. I have multiplicities. My happiness blooms and it wilts.",
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                        "text": "I don't think much new ever happens. Most of us spend our days the same way people spent their days in the year 1000: walking around smiling, trying to earn enough to eat, while neurotically doing these little self-proofs in our head about how much better we are than these other slobs, while simultaneously, in another part of our brain, secretly feeling woefully inadequate to these smarter, more beautiful people.",
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                        "text": "The weird thing was that I went to Trump rallies thinking I was going to run into militant, right wing, racist people and mostly I didn't. That should have been a clue to me. The people I talked to were not, on the surface level, crazy. They were quite nice, quite normal, employed, and actually were wealthier than the press at that time would have led us to believe. At that time, the narrative was that these were all working poor but these were not working poor. That should've been a clue to me that this was a little bigger than I thought.",
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                        "text": "The way I understood purgatory - and maybe you've got a different version - but in Chicago in the '70s, the idea was it was like detention. You had screwed up and you go over there in purgatory and you sit there until the end of days and then we'll decide. You'd made your mistake, and you were in prison, and it's not terrible and it's not great, and you feel a little crappy because you were not in the presence of God.",
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                        "text": "So for me the approach has become to go into a story not really sure of what I want to say, try to find some little seed crystal of interest, a sentence or an image or an idea, and as much as possible divest myself of any deep ideas about it. And then by this process of revision, mysteriously it starts to accrete meanings as you go.",
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                        "text": "I think about how I conceptualize the audience. The trick is that they've got to be smarter and more worldly than me. So as I'm revising, I'm keeping that in mind. I cannot condescend, even a little bit. Every single choice that I make is motivated by that.",
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                        "text": "I have been married to my wife, Paula, for 25 years. We have wonderful kids. Things are - it's been a really rich life, so I started thinking, is there a way to get valence a little more into the stories, the idea that, yes, things can go wrong, but also they can go right.",
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                        "text": "My stories, I can understand them as a little toy that you wind up and you put it on the floor and it just goes under the coach. That I get. Beyond that, I'm a little lost.",
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                        "text": "I'm a big lover of America. I love the people, but also the weird berms, the strange little high schools tucked away in different places, and just the whole geography and the psycho­logical apparatus of Americans.",
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                        "text": "It is technically very hard to show positive manifestations. But I can look back at the way I thought and felt even as a little kid and there was a lot of wonder there, and openness to the many sides of life.",
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                        "text": "Ralph Kramden, as played by Jackie Gleason, was this big bumbling New York City bus driver who was kind of mean and crass and a little bit egotistical. But underneath it all, he was a big heart looking for a place to land I think.",
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                        "text": "I don't like that new age posture where you kind of tilt your head. I don't like that posture right now. I want something a little more confident and more sure of the values that we're defending, which are the old ones, love and empathy and patience and tolerance and civility. Not to get into politics or anything.",
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                        "text": "When you read a short story, you come out a little more aware and a little more in love with the world around you. What I want is to have the reader come out just 6 percent more awake to the world.",
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                        "text": "In a story, for example, you'll start off with a character who is a little bit of a cartoon. That's not satisfying and you start revising. And as you revise you always are making it better by being specific and by observing more closely, which actually is really the same as saying you love your characters. The close observation equals love of them.",
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