Igor

“the part of the mind that reads a story is also the part that reads the world; it can deceive us, but it can also be trained to accuracy; it can fall into disuse and make us more susceptible to lazy, violent, materialistic forces, but it can also be urged back to life, transforming us into more active, curious, alert readers of reality.”
― George Saunders, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain

“the highest aspiration of art is to move the audience and that if the audience is moved, technical deficiencies are immediately forgiven.”
― George Saunders, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain

“A story with a problem is like a person with a problem: interesting.”
― George Saunders, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain

“Causality is to the writer what melody is to the songwriter: a superpower that the audience feels as the crux of the matter; the thing the audience actually shows up for; the hardest thing to do; that which distinguishes the competent practitioner from the extraordinary one.”
― George Saunders, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain