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George Saunders

What George Saunders thinks about writing

@george-saunders · 10 positions · On ppll ↗

American short-story writer and novelist, author of Tenth of December and Lincoln in the Bardo, and a teacher of fiction at Syracuse for thirty years. He runs Story Club, a Substack about how stories actually work.

George Saunders did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

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Only George Saunders on writing. See everyone on writing

3 dated positions, 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what George Saunders has said — not written or endorsed by them.

3 positions so far — this page is not yet offered to search engines.

  1. Our readingGoing to read work you know is good when your own is going badly is legitimate recalibration, not theft.

    Their wordsI do, yes, get into “funks like that” and I do just what you describe: I go find some writing that I know is good and check in against that.

    ↗On the Perils of Self-Assessing...georgesaunders.substack.com 1st of 6 in this piece

  3. Our readingWhat matters is not how the writer felt while writing it but how the reader will feel while reading it.

    Their wordsWhat matters is not how we felt on reading what you’re written, but how the reader is going to feel on reading it.

    ↗On the Perils of Self-Assessing...georgesaunders.substack.com 2nd of 6 in this piece

  5. Our readingA first draft should not be graded good or bad; it is only the material that taste then gets to act on.

    taste

    Their wordsJust don’t do it. Accept it, whatever it is, as a starting place in the long game of exerting your taste on your own prose.

    ↗On the Perils of Self-Assessing...georgesaunders.substack.com 5th of 6 in this piece