Plan and Betrayal
Have a plan, but be ready to betray it. The story is wiser than you. If it pulls you elsewhere, let go of the wheel and follow it like a student.
George Saunders
American writer and teacher, Man Booker Prize winner for Lincoln in the Bardo, renowned for combining dark humor with profound compassion.
All moments: George Saunders
- Buddhism and Satire — George Saunders
Satire is one of the ways of Buddhism. When you mock human vanity, you point people toward their suffering. This is not cruelty; this is love.
- Death as Dialogue — George Saunders
Death is not the end of the story; it is another kind of conversation. In Lincoln's afterlife, people continue to argue, love, suffer. Death is just another room.
- Writing as Compassion — George Saunders
When you write, you must love your characters—even those you criticize. Compassion is not sentimentality; it is the sharpness of vision.
- Three Delusions — George Saunders
We believe we are special, that we need more than others, that basic life rules don't apply to us. These three delusions are the root of all suffering.
- The Art of Refusal — George Saunders
I teach writers: deny your characters. The more you deny them, the more they suffer, the deeper their humanity. Suffering is the path to truth.
- Drama in the Details — George Saunders
Drama is not in big events; it is in details. In the way someone ties a shoelace, in a pause before a word, in how light falls on a face. True literature is a microscope.
Related moments
- Birth of a Legend — Paul McCartney
The Beatles were about growth. We changed every single day.
- All Music Is Folk Music — Louis Armstrong
All music is folk music. I ain't never heard a horse sing a song.
- Alien Artist — David Bowie
I never tried to fit in. I prefer to be myself, even if it's alien.
- Compromise and Conscience — Bob Dylan
I'll never sell my soul for money or fame. It's my only true asset.
- The Soul of Music — Questlove
Soul is what makes music real. It's what people feel
- Spontaneous Music — André 3000
The best music comes spontaneously. When you're not trying, it just appears