George Saunders: 2013 Will Hays, Jr., Visiting Writer
George Saunders during a reading from Tenth of December, Nov. 4, 2013, in Korb Classroom in the Wabash College Fine Arts Center.
“Genuine entertainment means finding some artificial way to find some semblance of a human being and projecting it onto a page. That’s the trick. It’s not an easy thing to do.” -- George Saunders
“Everyday life is completely full of plot because you are in it. I want to make human beings that you lean in to…”
“I like non-fiction. It looks like you, but I feel there is a ceiling there. I don’t know that fiction is me, but fiction allows me to find out what I believe. The moment you write yourself out of your preconceptions is fantastic.”
George Saunders (left) speaks to a student following his reading from Tenth of December, Nov. 4, 2013, in Korb Classroom in the Wabash College Fine Arts Center. Tradebook manager Judy Wynne is pictured at right.
“If you work in fiction for a long time, you are trying to figure out your tools or tricks. Once you find that out, it can be the end of you as a writer.”
George Saunders talks with advanced creative writing students during a lunch at the Sparks Center, Nov. 5, 2013. Scotty Cameron '14 is pictured at right.
Creative writing major David Myles '14 takes notes during a talk with author George Saunders during a lunch at the Sparks Center, Nov. 5, 2013.
“There is a gene is us that, as middle-aged guys, we want to be the boss. We just have it. The only antidote to that is to have your doors blown off every now and again. A way to do that is to go out into the world and see things anew.”
George Saunders (right) talks with advanced creative writing students during a lunch at the Sparks Center, Nov. 5, 2013. From left (near to far) are Nikolas Jones '14, associate professor of english Eric Freeze and David Myles '14.
“The things you need in your writing career you will develop those in thousands of hours of working on the page. How do you manage to put in the necessary time?”
“When I was a kid an MFA was a freaky thing to do. It was like joining the circus. It gave you the right sense of proportion to actually having a book out…For the people who are going to write there are two great misconceptions. First, if you want to be a writer, you have to get an MFA. Second, having an MFA automatically makes you a writer.”
“The trick is for me to keep my eye on entertaining. The story is always talking to you; you have to be listening. The story will tell you where it should go. You have to listen to it.”
Lucas Zromkoski '15 smiles during a talk by author George Saunders at Wabash College in an introductory creative writing course in Center Hall, Nov. 5, 2013.
“I think one of the most powerful phrases out there is ‘on the other hand.’ You’ll say what you have to say and believe it to the fullest, and then you’ll say, ‘on the other hand.’”
Ryan Horner '15 takes notes during a talk featuring author George Saunders in an introductory creative writing course in Center Hall, Nov. 5, 2013.
“If you start with the assumption that everyone is good at the core, people will respond and appreciate it.”