#de

That seems to be the definition of 'novel' for me: a story that hasn't yet discovered a way to be brief. ↗

— George Saunders

#definition #discovered #hasn #me #novel

The cool parts - the parts that have won Dubai its reputation as 'the Vegas of the Middle East' or 'the Venice of the Middle East' or 'the Disney World of the Middle East, if Disney World were the size of San Francisco and out in a desert' - have been built in the last ten years. ↗

— George Saunders

#built #cool #desert #disney #dubai

The mind is a machine that is constantly asking: What would I prefer? Close your eyes, refuse to move, and watch what your mind does. What it does is become discontent with that-which-is. A desire arises, you satisfy that desire, and another arises in its place. ↗

— George Saunders

#arises #asking #become #close #constantly

The universal human laws - need, love for the beloved, fear, hunger, periodic exaltation, the kindness that rises up naturally in the absence of hunger/fear/pain - are constant, predictable, reliable, universal, and are merely ornamented with the details of local culture. ↗

— George Saunders

#beloved #constant #culture #details #exaltation

The word 'funny' is a bit like the word 'love' - we don't have enough words to describe the many varieties. ↗

— George Saunders

#describe #enough #funny #like #love

There might be a different model for a literary community that's quicker, more real-time, and involves more spontaneity. ↗

— George Saunders

#different #involves #literary #might #model

There's a really nice moment in the life of a piece of writing where the writer starts to get a feeling of it outgrowing him - or he starts to see it having a life of its own that doesn't have anything to do with his ego or his desire to 'be a good writer.' ↗

— George Saunders

#desire #ego #feeling #get #good

We have that illusion that we are 'deciding' what to make a character do, in order to 'convey our message' or something like that. But, at least in my experience, you are often more like a river-rafting guide who's been paid a bonus to purposely steer your clients into the roughest possible water. ↗

— George Saunders

#bonus #character #clients #convey #deciding

When something really bad is going on in a culture, the average guy doesn't see it. He can't. He's average and is surrounded by and immersed in the cant and discourse of the status quo. ↗

— George Saunders

#average guy #bad #cant #culture #discourse

But I think our humour is exactly the same today. Only, we've made rules now. We've said we are not going to do prosthetic make-up scenes, because when they take it off half your face comes off. ↗

— Jennifer Saunders

#comes #exactly #face #going #half