--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a writer I'm essentially just trying…" description: "\"As a writer I'm essentially just trying to impersonate a first-time reader, who picks up the story and has to decide, at every point, whether to keep g..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/george-saunders-317_books_as-a-writer-i-m-essentially-just-trying_2585669.jpg" --- # As a writer I'm essentially just trying to impersonate a… ![“As a writer I'm essentially just trying to impersonate a first-time reader, who picks up the story and has to decide, at every point, whether to keep going.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/george-saunders-317_books_as-a-writer-i-m-essentially-just-trying_2585669.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/george-saunders-317_books_as-a-writer-i-m-essentially-just-trying_2585669.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/george-saunders-317_books_as-a-writer-i-m-essentially-just-trying_2585669.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 every point, whether to keep going.” [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers must constantly re‑engage readers, treating each page as a fresh encounter. **In simple terms:** Write as if the reader is new each time. Key Takeaway Keep stories compelling. Themes writing engagement reader perspective Mood inquisitive inspirational Type instructional reflective When to use this quote - creative writing Key Concepts novel drafting editing workshops Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain fresh perspectives? - What techniques keep readers hooked? A Different Perspective May underestimate reader memory. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Impersonate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impersonate/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I am not on tumblr. I can barely spell tumblr. However, there does seem to be someone on tumblr (who copied my reddit user…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-collins/i-am-not-on-tumblr-i-can-barely-spell-tumblr-however-there-does-seem/) [Misha Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-collins/) > [ \[The writer\] must essentially draw from life as he sees it, lives it, overhears it or steals it, and the truer the writer, perhaps… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-jackson/the-writer-must-essentially-draw-from-life-as-he-sees-it-lives-it/) [Charles R. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-jackson/) > [In Hollywood, they think they know it all. You, as a writer, are essentially an outsider. Novelists and short-story writers, especially.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/in-hollywood-they-think-they-know-it-all-you-as-a-writer-are/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [A writer is essentially a man who does not resign himself to loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-mauriac/a-writer-is-essentially-a-man-who-does-not-resign-himself-to/) [Francois Mauriac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-mauriac/) > [Most written work is a conversation between the editor and the writer, that the writer essentially fulfills in public, and the editor provides the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/most-written-work-is-a-conversation-between-the-editor-and-the-writer/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [It is a sad paradox that when male authors impersonate women ... they are said to be dealing with 'cosmic, major concerns' - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-is-a-sad-paradox-that-when-male-authors-impersonate-women-they-are/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“... but that is the satisfaction of writing - one can impersonate so many people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/but-that-is-the-satisfaction-of-writing-one-can-impersonate-so-many/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [“I'm just a child who's learned to impersonate an adult.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/i-m-just-a-child-who-s-learned-to-impersonate-an-adult/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [Don't impersonate. Innovate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-mcgregor/don-t-impersonate-innovate/) [Conor McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-mcgregor/) > [I think there's a real problem if you're making a film - some people have done whether it be about Jackson Pollock or about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-webber/i-think-there-s-a-real-problem-if-you-re-making-a-film-some-people/) [Peter Webber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-webber/) > [“Every time Sachs posed for a picture, he was forced to impersonate himself, to play the game of pretending to be who he was.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/every-time-sachs-posed-for-a-picture-he-was-forced-to-impersonate/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [A lot of hackers set up scam sites. They can impersonate a site like PayPal, for instance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-demon-calce/a-lot-of-hackers-set-up-scam-sites-they-can-impersonate-a-site-like/) [Michael Demon Calce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-demon-calce/) > [I'm very easy to impersonate. From the look to the personality, I'm like, wow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-bella/i-m-very-easy-to-impersonate-from-the-look-to-the-personality-i-m/) [Nikki Bella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-bella/) > [There is nobody on earth who could totally impersonate Jack Lewis, because you may look like him from the front or from the side,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-hawthorne/there-is-nobody-on-earth-who-could-totally-impersonate-jack-lewis/) [Nigel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-hawthorne/) > [I do not impersonate females! How many women do you know who wear seven inch heels, four foot wigs, and skintight dresses?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/i-do-not-impersonate-females-how-many-women-do-you-know-who-wear/) [RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/) ## 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/) [Explore all 690 George Saunders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As a writer I'm essentially just trying to impersonate a first-time reader, who picks up the story and has to decide, at every point, whether to keep going.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Saunders" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/as-a-writer-i-m-essentially-just-trying-to-impersonate-a-first-time/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/as-a-writer-i-m-essentially-just-trying-to-impersonate-a-first-time/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/george-saunders-317_books_as-a-writer-i-m-essentially-just-trying_2585669.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/george-saunders-317_books_as-a-writer-i-m-essentially-just-trying_2585669.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/george-saunders-317_books_as-a-writer-i-m-essentially-just-trying_2585669.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As a writer I'm essentially just trying to impersonate a first-time reader, who picks up the story and has…” — George Saunders", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Saunders", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As a writer I'm essentially just...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/as-a-writer-i-m-essentially-just-trying-to-impersonate-a-first-time/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/as-a-writer-i-m-essentially-just-trying-to-impersonate-a-first-time/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```