George Saunders on How and Why to “Freakify” Your Work

George Saunders is among my favorite short story writers. I’ve mentioned him and his books several times in past blog posts.

Recently, strolling through the Literary Hub website, I found a conversation between him and Mike Errico, author of the book Music, Lyrics, and Life: A Field Guide for the Advancing Songwriter.

Early in the conversation, Saunders tells Errico that he began his career as a songwriter. After some years of trying, he concluded that he wasn’t very good at it, so he switched to another one of his interests: writing short stories.

As I alluded to above, Saunders’s short stories are among the best I’ve ever read. And it was a treat to read one of his secrets for writing a great one. He calls it “freakifying” –  something that can be applied to just about any form of creative expression.

I was particularly struck by his definition of art (something that also intrigued Errico): “What’s important is that something undeniable and nontrivial happens between entry and exit,” Saunders says.

“Can you expand on that?” Errico asks.

Read Saunders’s answer, and the rest of the interview, here.