This is so full of encouraging thoughts, Hattie. I particularly love "If you don’t know what to think of a person, you lean in a little closer". In writing as in life, and all the blurred lines in between. Thank you for this.
Just enjoyed some nuggets from George on the book exploder podcast (off shoot of song exploder), worth a listen! Was sad not to be able to make last weekends talk, but I did see Nick Cave talk at the Southbank last night, who is truly a genius to listen to also x
I heard him give a very similar talk in NYC last week – what a joy! Came away from it feeling both gentler and more fired up about writing, which is a pretty special combination. Relatedly, I'm in NYC (EST time) and would be excited about a later "In Writing" time :D
I was there too :) And also came out feeling energised and wanting to pay more attention to my work.
Testament to his charm and charisma: my wife came with me and although she's read most of his stuff and enjoys it enough, she never really understood why everyone always seems to make such a big fuss over George Saunders. As we walked out of Southank Centre she turned to me and went: Ok I get it now.
Thank you for writing this. I was at the interview and it was such a fantastic experience! The only trouble is that he's inspiring you so much that you find yourself thinking about your writing and then having to remind yourself to keep paying attention to the rest of the wisdom nuggets he's giving out.
One of things I really took away from the talk was the sense of fun that he encouraged everyone to have with their work. Fun isn't talked about enough as a key component of making stuff. People prefer the idea of the tragic sad man myth.
Thanks for giving us these bits of wisdom from George’s interview, Hattie. Each of them spoke to me, but especially the first. Consuming challenging and interesting writing creates sparks in my brain that eventually come together in a theme to put to the page.
So it’s important (for me) to take notes--even minor ones--on what I’m reading. I can’t tell you how many times I read something I thought insignificant only to have it stuck in my brain for weeks!
There was a bit during audience questions that stood out to me. It was about how drawing a blank at apparently crucial plot points isn't a sign that the story is untenable, but an invitation to enrich your understanding of what it's about, to meet the story on a deeper level. (I thought he'd written a substack post about it too, but a quick search turned up nothing.)
Anyway, it struck me as an excellent example of George's ability to reframe what can otherwise be quite a demoralising experience.
This is so full of encouraging thoughts, Hattie. I particularly love "If you don’t know what to think of a person, you lean in a little closer". In writing as in life, and all the blurred lines in between. Thank you for this.
Just enjoyed some nuggets from George on the book exploder podcast (off shoot of song exploder), worth a listen! Was sad not to be able to make last weekends talk, but I did see Nick Cave talk at the Southbank last night, who is truly a genius to listen to also x
I heard him give a very similar talk in NYC last week – what a joy! Came away from it feeling both gentler and more fired up about writing, which is a pretty special combination. Relatedly, I'm in NYC (EST time) and would be excited about a later "In Writing" time :D
I was there too :) And also came out feeling energised and wanting to pay more attention to my work.
Testament to his charm and charisma: my wife came with me and although she's read most of his stuff and enjoys it enough, she never really understood why everyone always seems to make such a big fuss over George Saunders. As we walked out of Southank Centre she turned to me and went: Ok I get it now.
Thank you for writing this. I was at the interview and it was such a fantastic experience! The only trouble is that he's inspiring you so much that you find yourself thinking about your writing and then having to remind yourself to keep paying attention to the rest of the wisdom nuggets he's giving out.
One of things I really took away from the talk was the sense of fun that he encouraged everyone to have with their work. Fun isn't talked about enough as a key component of making stuff. People prefer the idea of the tragic sad man myth.
Thanks for giving us these bits of wisdom from George’s interview, Hattie. Each of them spoke to me, but especially the first. Consuming challenging and interesting writing creates sparks in my brain that eventually come together in a theme to put to the page.
So it’s important (for me) to take notes--even minor ones--on what I’m reading. I can’t tell you how many times I read something I thought insignificant only to have it stuck in my brain for weeks!
Good point! Thank you.
Thanks for this! I'm putting my writing last at the moment so the reminder to put it first is really helpful. I know that, and yet it slips...
Thanks for these snippets, Hattie.
There was a bit during audience questions that stood out to me. It was about how drawing a blank at apparently crucial plot points isn't a sign that the story is untenable, but an invitation to enrich your understanding of what it's about, to meet the story on a deeper level. (I thought he'd written a substack post about it too, but a quick search turned up nothing.)
Anyway, it struck me as an excellent example of George's ability to reframe what can otherwise be quite a demoralising experience.
Argh x 100! When I was writing my book I was so focussed but now... I slip all the time....