I’m not sure why I’m so drawn to writers, other than it’s a skill that I don’t have in any form. Writers have dedicated their lives to crafting words together to tell a story that a reader can understand, identify with, sympathize with, even to the point of changing the life of that reader. The person that I am today is partly shaped by books that I’ve read.

This interview with George Saunders is a real treat.

George says;

There’s this Chekhov quote that I’m kind of living by lately. He says a work of art doesn’t have to solve a problem — it just has to formulate it correctly.

I agree, the start of solving a problem is truly identifying what the problem is. To formulate it correctly. To put it into words that can be understood. This is a skill. I see it in my own life in relationships. I complain about something and talk about the problem, but it comes across wrong to the other person, they don’t understand, or they offer a solution to the problem they perceive I’m talking about. I’m failing to formulate my problem correctly.

The art of good writing will never cease to amaze me and even though I can’t write, I sure can appreciate it, and read as much of it as I can until my dying day.

Anyway, really good interview. Read it or even better watch the video.

His new book, Vigil, comes out January 27th.