---
title: "90 Writer Quotes By George Saunders"
description: "Writer quotes by George Saunders explore mood swings, self‑acceptance, and the power of specific details."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/george-saunders-317_awake_i-read-to-make-myself-feel-awake-914349_914349.jpg"
---

> [I read to make myself feel awake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-read-to-make-myself-feel-awake/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/george-saunders-317_awake_i-read-to-make-myself-feel-awake-914349_914349.jpg)

> [I don't really write beautifully naturally, unlike some people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-don-t-really-write-beautifully-naturally-unlike-some-people/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/george-saunders-317_people_i-don-t-really-write-beautifully-natural_2739947.jpg)

> [Sometimes I think fiction exists to model the way God might think of us, if God had the time and inclination to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/sometimes-i-think-fiction-exists-to-model-the-way-god-might-think-of/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/george-saunders-317_fiction_sometimes-i-think-fiction-exists-to-mode_2401749.jpg)

> [All along, my mantra was: Don't write unless it contributes to the emotion, and do anything you do in service of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/all-along-my-mantra-was-don-t-write-unless-it-contributes-to-the/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/george-saunders-317_emotion_all-along-my-mantra-was-don-t-write-unle_2876504.jpg)

> [I know that my only chance at any kind of depth or profundity is to linger within the story, trying to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-know-that-my-only-chance-at-any-kind-of-depth-or-profundity-is-to/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/760/george-saunders-317_chance_i-know-that-my-only-chance-at-any-kind-o_2731534.jpg)

> [I have finally realized that, you know, it's not a given that my lifespan will accommodate my writing aspirations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-have-finally-realized-that-you-know-it-s-not-a-given-that-my/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1f/george-saunders-317_accommodate_i-have-finally-realized-that-you-know-it_1691616.jpg)

> [I always describe writing a story as throwing bowling pins in the air and then catching them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-always-describe-writing-a-story-as-throwing-bowling-pins-in-the-air/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32b/george-saunders-317_air_i-always-describe-writing-a-story-as-thr_1492465.jpg)

> [In fiction, conceptualizing, I've found, produces dull and over-controlled text.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-fiction-conceptualizing-i-ve-found-produces-dull-and-over/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/george-saunders-317_controlled_in-fiction-conceptualizing-i-ve-found-pr_2802523.jpg)

> [“A novel is just a story that hasn't yet discovered a way to be brief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-novel-is-just-a-story-that-hasn-t-yet-discovered-a-way-to-be-brief/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/george-saunders-317_books_a-novel-is-just-a-story-that-hasn-t-yet_1364824.jpg)

> [I think if someone could demonstrate to me that fiction did no good, I would still do it, because I think it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-think-if-someone-could-demonstrate-to-me-that-fiction-did-no-good-i/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/452/george-saunders-317_doe_i-think-if-someone-could-demonstrate-to_1268163.jpg)

> [I'm always aware of writing around things I can't do, and I've come to think that that's actually what 'style' is -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-m-always-aware-of-writing-around-things-i-can-t-do-and-i-ve-come-to/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/george-saunders-317_avoidance_i-m-always-aware-of-writing-around-thing_761457.jpg)

> [As a writer I'm essentially just trying to impersonate a first-time reader, who picks up the story and has to decide, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/as-a-writer-i-m-essentially-just-trying-to-impersonate-a-first-time/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/george-saunders-317_books_as-a-writer-i-m-essentially-just-trying_2585669.jpg)

> [“But hereby resolve to write in this book at least twenty minutes a night. (If discouraged, just think of how much will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/but-hereby-resolve-to-write-in-this-book-at-least-twenty-minutes-a/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98d/george-saunders-317_book_but-hereby-resolve-to-write-in-this-book_1316121.jpg)

> [If I'm writing a story and you're reading it, or vice versa, you took time out of your day to pick up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/if-i-m-writing-a-story-and-you-re-reading-it-or-vice-versa-you-took/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/george-saunders-317_book_if-i-m-writing-a-story-and-you-re-readin_1061592.jpg)

> [ \[Lincoln in the Bardo\] is not a long book. And that meant I could obsess over it and live in it both… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/lincoln-in-the-bardo-is-not-a-long-book-and-that-meant-i-could-obsess/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afc/george-saunders-317_backwards_lincoln-in-the-bardo-is-not-a-long-book_2176474.jpg)

> [The writer, in order to proceed, is theoretically trying to predict where his complex skein of language and image has left his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/the-writer-in-order-to-proceed-is-theoretically-trying-to-predict/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/217/george-saunders-317_books_the-writer-in-order-to-proceed-is-theore_82564.jpg)

> [If a writer understands his work as something that originates with him but then, with any luck, gets away from him, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/if-a-writer-understands-his-work-as-something-that-originates-with/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/251/george-saunders-317_get-away_if-a-writer-understands-his-work-as-some_2658656.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)

> [If you understand writing as primarily engaging an imaginary reader, well, you've kind of been doing that your whole life. You walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/if-you-understand-writing-as-primarily-engaging-an-imaginary-reader/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/george-saunders-317_bars_if-you-understand-writing-as-primarily-e_73875.jpg)

> [To me, the process of writing is just reading what I've written and - like running your hand over one of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/to-me-the-process-of-writing-is-just-reading-what-i-ve-written-and/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57a/george-saunders-317_energy_to-me-the-process-of-writing-is-just-rea_3112061.jpg)

> [I think in our time, you know, so much of the information we get is pre-polarized. Fiction has a way of reminding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-think-in-our-time-you-know-so-much-of-the-information-we-get-is-pre/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acf/george-saunders-317_desire_i-think-in-our-time-you-know-so-much-of_2653763.jpg)

> [With non-fiction writing I feel like I'm confined and driven by what actually happened. That makes the "plot". So it's a process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/with-non-fiction-writing-i-feel-like-i-m-confined-and-driven-by-what/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/george-saunders-317_certain_with-non-fiction-writing-i-feel-like-i-m_530847.jpg)

> [My theory for nonfiction is that nobody can be free of some kind of conceptions about whatever story they're writing. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/my-theory-for-nonfiction-is-that-nobody-can-be-free-of-some-kind-of/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/george-saunders-317_conception_my-theory-for-nonfiction-is-that-nobody_1207911.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)

> [ The only thing I might have noticed \[and this is pretty anecdotal\] is that there is some tendency to need to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/the-only-thing-i-might-have-noticed-and-this-is-pretty-anecdotal-is/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/249/george-saunders-317_blogging_the-only-thing-i-might-have-noticed-and_2019915.jpg)

> [You don't want to spend your life writing about stuff that doesn't matter. You want to try to pull out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-spend-your-life-writing-about-stuff-that-doesn-t/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/george-saunders-317_books_you-don-t-want-to-spend-your-life-writin_3234235.jpg)

> [You didn't plan to write a story; it just happened. Well, it could be argued that the next thing you should do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-didn-t-plan-to-write-a-story-it-just-happened-well-it-could-be/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b5/george-saunders-317_interesting_you-didn-t-plan-to-write-a-story-it-just_2079893.jpg)

> [All I really know in nonfiction is that when I come home, I've got all these notes and I'm trying to figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/all-i-really-know-in-nonfiction-is-that-when-i-come-home-i-ve-got-all/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b19/george-saunders-317_certain_all-i-really-know-in-nonfiction-is-that_2061468.jpg)

> [“How, then, to proceed? My method is: I imagine a meter mounted in my forehead, with “P” on this side (“Positive”) and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/how-then-to-proceed-my-method-is-i-imagine-a-meter-mounted-in-my/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/george-saunders-317_editing_how-then-to-proceed-my-method-is-i-imagi_344822.jpg)

> [I'm always nice when I do drugs. But, you know, I'm nicer on the drug called "writing."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-m-always-nice-when-i-do-drugs-but-you-know-i-m-nicer-on-the-drug/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/george-saunders-317_drug_i-m-always-nice-when-i-do-drugs-but-you_3204752.jpg)

> [I remember reading The Bluest Eye when I was a young parent, and something opened in me. That's the highest aspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-remember-reading-the-bluest-eye-when-i-was-a-young-parent-and/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/george-saunders-317_aspiration_i-remember-reading-the-bluest-eye-when-i_1057496.jpg)

> [When I write I know that I'm going to have to produce 40 percent more than I need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/when-i-write-i-know-that-i-m-going-to-have-to-produce-40-percent-more/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31b/george-saunders-317_needs_when-i-write-i-know-that-i-m-going-to-ha_1656635.jpg)

> [I think that fiction has a part to play in urging us, as a species, toward compassion,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-think-that-fiction-has-a-part-to-play-in-urging-us-as-a-species/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/george-saunders-317_compassion_i-think-that-fiction-has-a-part-to-play_1664357.jpg)

> [That seems to be the definition of 'novel' for me: a story that hasn't yet discovered a way to be brief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/that-seems-to-be-the-definition-of-novel-for-me-a-story-that-hasn-t/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/george-saunders-317_books_that-seems-to-be-the-definition-of-novel_1718908.jpg)

> [I've always wanted to write energetic, atypical sentences, i.e., sentences that were not normal or bland.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-ve-always-wanted-to-write-energetic-atypical-sentences-i-e/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/george-saunders-317_bland_i-ve-always-wanted-to-write-energetic-at_1875938.jpg)

> [It's funny with fiction - once you cut something, it hasn't happened anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/it-s-funny-with-fiction-once-you-cut-something-it-hasn-t-happened/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/george-saunders-317_cutting_it-s-funny-with-fiction-once-you-cut-som_2396479.jpg)

> [There are books that I read years ago that enlivened things in me that haven't died yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/there-are-books-that-i-read-years-ago-that-enlivened-things-in-me/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c8/george-saunders-317_book_there-are-books-that-i-read-years-ago-th_68345.jpg)

> [Fiction is open to whoever comes in the door, as long as you come in energetically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/fiction-is-open-to-whoever-comes-in-the-door-as-long-as-you-come-in/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f7/george-saunders-317_doors_fiction-is-open-to-whoever-comes-in-the_857345.jpg)

> [ While I'm doing \[writing\], I don't feel it.I don't think that's a failing. I think it's just a feature. Like, a feature… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/while-i-m-doing-writing-i-don-t-feel-it-i-don-t-think-that-s-a/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/846/george-saunders-317_failing_while-i-m-doing-writing-i-don-t-feel-it_302755.jpg)

> [I don't know about transformation. But scientifically you can say: Well, it doesn't seem to hurt anybody. Personally I've been cheered by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-don-t-know-about-transformation-but-scientifically-you-can-say-well/)

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

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/708/george-saunders-317_believe_i-don-t-know-about-transformation-but-sc_1292165.jpg)

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## 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": "[Lincoln in the Bardo] is not a long book. And that meant I could obsess over it and live in it both backwards and forwards and hyper-control everything.",
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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": "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.",
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                        "text": "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.",
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                        "text": "I think in our time, you know, so much of the information we get is pre-polarized. Fiction has a way of reminding us that we actually are very similar in our emotions and our neurology and our desires and our fears, so I think it's a nice way to neutralize that polarization.",
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                        "text": "With non-fiction writing I feel like I'm confined and driven by what actually happened. That makes the \"plot\". So it's a process of getting all of my notes typed up, then scanning through the notes, trying to extract or find certain vignettes that seem like they might write well - that might have a potential for good energy, shape, etc. And then at some point I start stringing these together, keeping an eye on the word count.",
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                        "text": "My theory for nonfiction is that nobody can be free of some kind of conceptions about whatever story they're writing. But if you can find a way to build those into the story, then the story becomes a process of deconstructing and heightening and sometimes changing those notions and that makes dramatic tension. The initial statement of your position, and then letting reality act on you to change it, is pretty good storytelling.",
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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": "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 dislodged, but I suspect it might have something to do with the turnaround time re: blogging and so on - this sense that there is some essential truth about a first draft that one runs the risk of \"ruining\" by coming back to it.",
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                        "text": "You don't want to spend your life writing about stuff that doesn't matter. You want to try to pull out of the temporal mediocre and write in a way that is meaningful to everybody. This goes back to this idea of being intimate with your reader. Since we're all down here and we're all dying and aspiring and loving and feeling inadequate, all these things that we all are doing all the time, what a relief it is, when somebody looks at you and says, \"Yeah, me too.\"",
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                        "text": "You didn't plan to write a story; it just happened. Well, it could be argued that the next thing you should do is find a hole to dig. Right? So you start digging a hole and then somebody brings a body along and puts it in. That's what a story must feel like to me. It's not that you say, \"I want to write a story about a gravedigger.\" But you're walking along and \"I don't know what I'm doing here in this story,' and - boop! a shovel. \"Oh, interesting. Ok, what does one do with a shovel? Digs a hole. Why? I don't know yet. Dig the hole! Oh, look a body.\"",
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                        "text": "All I really know in nonfiction is that when I come home, I've got all these notes and I'm trying to figure out what actually happened to me. I usually kind of know what happened, but as you work through the notes, you find that certain scenes write well and some don't even though they should. Those make a constellation of meaning that weirdly ends up telling you what you just went through. It's a slightly different process, but still there's mystery because when you're bearing down on the scenes, sometimes you find out they mean something different than what you thought.",
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                        "text": "“How, then, to proceed? My method is: I imagine a meter mounted in my forehead, with “P” on this side (“Positive”) and “N” on this side (“Negative”). I try to read what I’ve written uninflectedly, the way a first-time reader might (“without hope and without despair”). Where’s the needle? Accept the result without whining. Then edit, so as to move the needle into the “P” zone. Enact a repetitive, obsessive, iterative application of preference: watch the needle, adjust the prose, watch the needle, adjust the prose (rinse, lather, repeat), through (sometimes) hundreds of drafts. Like a cruise ship slowly turning, the story will start to alter course via those thousands of incremental adjustments. The artist, in this model, is like the optometrist, always asking: Is it better like this? Or like this? The interesting thing, in my experience, is that the result of this laborious and slightly obsessive process is a story that is better than I am in “real life” – funnier, kinder, less full of crap, more empathetic, with a clearer sense of virtue, both wiser and more entertaining. And what a pleasure that is; to be, on the page, less of a dope than usual.”",
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