What George Saunders Said
Last night George Saunders read from his amazing short story collection, Tenth of December, and answered audience questions at the Highland Inn Ballroom. It was an amazing evening of conversation about writing–the kind of inspiring, exciting dialogue that reminded me of going to readings in graduate school. It felt like everything Saunders said about writing was an emerald-encrusted diamond dropping out of his mouth, and I took notes as fast as I could. Here are a few of those gems:
On his Early Start with Fiction:
“I’d given up on being Hemingway, and I was making breakthroughs.”
“I thought, ‘I’d rather go into this unknown area [letting go of being “Literary” with a capital L”] with the stuff I actually know’ (pop culture, technical writing).”
“Writing a story is trying to get something interesting down, and then not worry about it anymore.”
(Quoting the great Flannery O’Connor): “A person can choose what he writes, but can’t choose what he makes live.”
On Revision:
“If you have something that’s a little off, as a writer, part of you knows it.”
“You’re cleaning out the weeds so you can put some flowers in.”
“You have to mimic a first-time reader. Have a little needle in your mind that goes from positive to negative, read through the story, and ask what your energy is doing [according to that needle] as you go.” [Saunders then described going through a sentence such as “Bob crossed the room to sit down on the blue couch,” and narrowing it down bit by bit. “Why ‘to sit down on’ instead of just ‘sat’? Is crossing the room necessary? What about the fact that the couch is blue? Then, do we even need this sentence at all?” He did admit this process is slow.]
“You should aim for, maybe, making the draft 3% better the next pass . . . Then, maybe one day, you let the inner nun run the asylum.”
On Criticism:
(Based on advice he got from Bill Clinton [while traveling with him to Africa for a writing piece], advice Clinton had actually received from his wife, Hillary): “When someone throws something negative at you, rather than ducking, or even throwing something back, just stand there. What you need to hear will stick, and the rest will go by.”
“If you find someone who really likes or hates your work, but has at least thought about it carefully, that’s really useful.”
On studying writing:
“You’re in a contest to have a fire lit under you by this lineage of writers to whom you’re just finding out you belong.”
It was so amazing to be in the company of this self-effacing, funny, accessible, generous and friendly genius. If you haven’t yet read Tenth of December, I encourage you to pick up a copy (paperback version was just released), especially if you are interested in studying the craft of writing in any way. The hype you’ve heard is absolutely true. I’m positive this is the best book I read in 2013, and the best short story collection possibly, ever. (And yes that means even better than Alice Munro, Lorrie Moore, or Raymond Carver.)
In fact, I’d love to help you win a copy, signed by Saunders himself. Tell me one of your favorite short stories (by Saunders or anyone else), and I’ll put you in the hat.
To hear more of George Saunders, here’s an interview my pal Kate Sweeney did with him for WABE.