George Saunders

“The generalizing writer is like the passionate drunk, stumbling into your house mumbling generalizations.”

“Err in the direction of kindness. Do those things that incline you toward the big questions, and avoid the things that would reduce you and make you trivial.”

“Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution.”

“Humor is what happens when we're told the truth quicker and more directly than we're used to.”

“The job of the artist is to be a good host, to make the reader feel welcome.”

“When you read a short story, you come out a little more aware and a little more in love with the world around you.”

“Don't be afraid to be confused. Try to remain permanently confused. Anything is possible.”

“What makes us human is that we can correct our own mistakes.”

“A story is a way of thinking. It's a way of looking at the world.”

“What I want to do is make a story that is not just a story, but a machine for empathy.”

“What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.”

“The world is full of second-raters doing first-rate things. The world is full of first-raters doing second-rate things.”

“Find out what you are at deepest, and be that.”

“We are, and have always been, a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too.”

“To be a good writer, you have to be a good reader.”

“I want to be a force for inclusion.”

“Story is a way of saying: 'This is what it's like to be.' It's a method of communicating the feeling of being alive.”

“My only advice is to stay aware, listen carefully, and yell for help if you need it.”

“Kindness, it turns out, is hard - it starts out all rainbows and puppy dogs, and expands to include...well, everything.”