Saunders describes reading student novels that churn their wheels endlessly, stuck in exposition, no escalation in sight. I’ve written a lot of stuff like that. It’s not enough that things keep happening. The things that happen need to build on each other and intensify, like a snowball growing in size and speed as it pursues some Looney Tunes... See more

Every story that matters is one that creates tension in its time. This doesn’t mean you have to be controversial or employ shock value. On the contrary, it means you have to make a statement about the world and force people to choose a side.