Book Quote by George Saunders
![“As the writer of this book [Lincoln in the Bardo], what I loved was the feeling of having so many surprises come at the end that I hadn't really planned or planted.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/869/george-saunders-317_book_as-the-writer-of-this-book-lincoln-in-th_507145.jpg)
“As the writer of this book [Lincoln in the Bardo], what I loved was the feeling of having so many surprises come at the end that I hadn't really planned or planted.”
About This Quote
Source Book: Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders, 2017
The author enjoys unexpected twists that arise organically, valuing surprise over meticulous planning.
In simple terms: Surprises are more rewarding than over‑planning.
Key Takeaway
Embrace spontaneity in creative work.
Themes
creativity
surprise
process
writing
Mood
inspirational
thoughtful
Type
literary
creative
When to use this quote
- novel writing
- workshops
- improvisational theater
- brainstorming
- storytelling
Key Concepts
narrative structure
serendipity
authorial intent
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you balance planning with openness to surprise?
- What role does surprise play in engaging audiences?
A Different Perspective
Too much randomness can undermine coherence.
![“I knew if I evoked that stuff too easily or gratuitously, as a way of assuaging my fears of not being edgy or whatever, the writing would fall apart. This book [Lincoln in the Bardo] was going to have to have some earnestness in it.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/794/george-saunders-317_book_i-knew-if-i-evoked-that-stuff-too-easily_407342.jpg)
![“The beginning [of Lincoln in the Bardo] is strange, and I did a lot of work calibrating that so that a reader with a certain level of patience would get through it and in the nick of time start to figure out what was going on. In a short book, you can do that.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9f9/george-saunders-317_book_the-beginning-of-lincoln-in-the-bardo-is_3025267.jpg)
![“[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.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/afc/george-saunders-317_backwards_lincoln-in-the-bardo-is-not-a-long-book_2176474.jpg)
![“Whole swaths of the book [Lincoln in the Bardo] are made up of verbatim quotes from various historical sources, which I cut up and rearranged to form part of the narrative.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f08/george-saunders-317_book_whole-swaths-of-the-book-lincoln-in-the_1268701.jpg)
![“What interests me in [Lincoln in the Bardo] is a slight perverse balance between the sublime and the grotesque. Like you could have landed only on the sublime. But my argument is that the sublime couldn't exist without this other half.” quote by Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ce4/zadie-smith-584_argument_what-interests-me-in-lincoln-in-the-bard_1764730.jpg)
![“What was fun for me with this book [Lincoln in the Bardo] was to start out with the principle that went, "We're going to fight every day to make this not a novel; make it too short to be a novel." And then with that principle in place, the book sort of starts to say, "Okay, but I really need this…” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/920/george-saunders-317_book_what-was-fun-for-me-with-this-book-linco_1985477.jpg)
