#er

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

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 I was a kid, I took 'The Brady Bunch' and 'The Partridge Family' very seriously. It was a world to me in the same way that the Greek myths would have been had I read them. You know, Marcia is Athena and Mr. Brady is Zeus. ↗

— George Saunders

#brady #bunch #family #greek #had

When I write I know that I'm going to have to produce 40 percent more than I need. ↗

— George Saunders

#i #i write #know #more #need

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