updated 7mo ago
Craft Advice from George Saunders
- Writer George Saunders calls this “achieving the iconic space,” and it’s what he’s after when he meets his creative writing students. “They arrive already wonderful. What we try to do over the next three years is help them achieve what I call their “iconic space” — the place from which they will write the stories only they could write, using what m... See more
from Notes on “Taste” — Are.na by Brie Wolfson
Alex Dobrenko added
loving how much of this is quotes
- for most of us, our work would benefit from reaching out to others more, trusting more in our readers. I have seen, in many of my students, that the first proof of progress is that their stories become more cognizant of the existence of the reader – more fun, less unnecessarily dense, truer to life, fairer, warmer; they start engaging with issues t... See more
from Art vs. Commerce by George Saunders
Keely Adler added
We’re always asking, of a work we’re reading (even if it’s one of our own): “Is it story yet?” That’s the moment we’re seeking as we write. We’re revising and revising until we write the text up, so to speak, and it produces that “now it’s a story” feeling.
from A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders
Jonathan Simcoe added
- what makes us a writer in the moment is the state of our mind. Are we interested, curious, noticing, changing our view, always changing our view, loving the world, compelled by the beauty of language? Nothing can take those things away from us and, the truth is, nothing external can give them to us either.
from Art vs. Commerce by George Saunders
Keely Adler added
- “A few tips on how to be a better writer:
– write about what fascinates you
– make one point per sentence
– use stories to make your point
– cut extra words like “really” and “very”
– read the whole thing out loud
– post publicly (you’ll try harder when you know others will read it)
And finally, be more thoughtful about what you consume. The quality of id... See morefrom 3-2-1: On taking action, tips for writers, and good relationships by James Clear
Isaac Feldman and added
- It’s a little facile, maybe, and certainly hard to implement, but I’d say, as a goal in life, you could do worse than: Try to be kinder.
from "Failures of Kindness" by George Saunders
Prashanth Narayan added
From George Saunders, on nuance and embracing complexity:
... See morethe writer doesn't have to have a fixed firm idea, but has to be able to take the reader on a journey to remind her that the world is complicated. From the very beginning, I understood writing to be about some kind of moral or ethical imperative. Absent that, I'm not that interested in it, ac
Alara and added
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: From the Man Booker Prize-winning, New York Times-bestselling author of Lincoln in the Bardo
