“Have A Plan, And Be Willing To Abandon It” - How George Saunders Picks His Writing Topics

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  • Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
  • Stephen welcomes one of his favorite authors, George Saunders, back to The Late Show to discuss his writing process and his latest book, “Liberation Day,” which is available everywhere now. #Colbert #GeorgeSaunders #LiberationDay
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Комментарии • 127

  • @kevinmilne3487
    @kevinmilne3487 Год назад +232

    This. This right here is why Colbert is leagues above other late night TV. This is an interview from a bygone era; when we didn’t shy away from some true intelligent discussion. Instead we reduced ourselves to pseudo reality tv. Thank you Colbert!

    • @stefanfrankel8157
      @stefanfrankel8157 Год назад +10

      I don't know how old you are, but I remember when Jack Paar did interviews like this on the original Tonight Show. He'd actually have 10 minute discussions with his favorite author. I forget the guy's name, but it was always interesting. I also listened to the Long John Nebel show on WOR out of New York City on my Philco radio in Philadelphia. And people wonder why folks fall for the most bizarre theories about a flat earth and a faked moon landing.

    • @dark_neverland
      @dark_neverland Год назад +9

      I agree tonight honestly think it's one of the reasons he gets so many guests on his show that hardly ever do TV interviews or interviews at all

    • @patriciabagby90
      @patriciabagby90 Год назад +1

      Great point.

    • @gixellia8455
      @gixellia8455 Год назад +1

      Well said. Thank you :o)

    • @lfeb
      @lfeb Год назад +4

      You should check out Trevor Noah's interviews. Very deep almost every time

  • @JillWhitcomb1966
    @JillWhitcomb1966 Год назад +83

    Due to seeing author George Saunders on your show, I've now enrolled in a George Saunders Literature class as part of my MFA degree coursework. Thanks for the inspiration!

    • @kathrynmceachern9503
      @kathrynmceachern9503 Год назад +4

      Colbert never fails to inspire. It's a little eerie... But, amazing!

    • @byelevenseas
      @byelevenseas 2 месяца назад

      I thought he only taught at Syracuse? 6 students accepted out of a kazillion applicants

  • @boffo63
    @boffo63 Год назад +56

    That was much too short of an interview. Brilliant people talking.

  • @BooksForever
    @BooksForever Год назад +101

    I was just behind George Saunders in earning our Bachelor of Science degrees in engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. He’s one of those relatively rare engineers who has a facility for words that even exceeds his command of numbers. Great guy!

    • @Junksaint
      @Junksaint Год назад +7

      Good way of putting it, you have a faculty for words yourself, Sir.

    • @marshwetland3808
      @marshwetland3808 Год назад +7

      @@Junksaint Facility, not faculty...don't you hate autocorrect? Or maybe it was a joke.

    • @grazeinthepasture
      @grazeinthepasture Год назад

      @@marshwetland3808 *shoves glasses up nose* actually it's fac......No one likes you, Marsh.

    • @charliejsanders
      @charliejsanders Год назад +1

      So what! 🎉 Noice!!

  • @peggygallagher5802
    @peggygallagher5802 Год назад +52

    What an amazing discussion about the writing process...

  • @pirobot668beta
    @pirobot668beta Год назад +16

    When I was in the Army, we had a training exercise: "Imagine your mission is to drive 5 trucks from A to B. Now imagine that X happens at this point on the map. Now what do you do now?"
    We spent 8 grueling hours going over every conceivable 'X' that could happen to 5 trucks driving 3 miles down a lonely road.
    Conclusion: Your carefully laid plans will evaporate like Summer rain, be ready to think fast!
    Clinging to plans and schemes whose time has past is a sign of childish thinking. "Stay the course!"

  • @jeanneratterman
    @jeanneratterman Год назад +37

    I like what he said about have a plan and not being attached to it. Organic development after you step off into the creative process is the best.

  • @hoozle
    @hoozle Год назад +19

    More from this dude pls, great interview, thanks for once again introducing me to a fascinating person

  • @guywolff
    @guywolff Год назад +32

    I think this is my favorite interaction from 50 years of seeing the Late SHow .

  • @RawDiscovery
    @RawDiscovery Год назад +53

    I just started writing a story and this interview couldn't have come at a better time. Thank you for this conversation.

    • @amberandrews6842
      @amberandrews6842 Год назад +5

      Enjoy the adventure! 💜💜

    • @Booksandchess
      @Booksandchess Год назад +6

      Check out his book called a swim in the pond (or something like that). It’s a great book about writing by exploring Russian short stories.

    • @OrangeDurito
      @OrangeDurito Год назад +4

      @@Booksandchess Thank you so much for the recommendation. I have added this book in my Goodreads TBR.

  • @krisfrederick5001
    @krisfrederick5001 Год назад +46

    I have never heard of this man, as a songwriter I can relate to a lot of this, and so glad that I have.

    • @mfpendle
      @mfpendle Год назад +6

      Oh, man. Read everything you can by George Saunders - it's all incredible

    • @melanies.6030
      @melanies.6030 Год назад +4

      He's absolutely brilliant. His stories are mind-bending.

    • @krisfrederick5001
      @krisfrederick5001 Год назад +1

      @@LorentJalabert Orwell has his own sense of Gallows Humor

    • @CalebDBarnes
      @CalebDBarnes 9 месяцев назад +1

      If you appreciate songwriting and Saunders, check out his conversation with Jason Isbell

  • @kowen5323
    @kowen5323 Год назад +17

    make the plan, execute the plan, expect the plan to go off the rails, throw away the plan.
    -Leonard Snart

  • @Boomer_Johnson
    @Boomer_Johnson Год назад +22

    My favorite part of doing improv is when you work off the other person. When you don't have a plan and you are unprepared, you can the the most genius and funniest stuff just from flying blind. Man plans, God laughs. Having a plan, ruins any chance for a belly laugh or tears running down an upturned cheek from the laugh. My funniest moments are when I've worked with someone that can listen and think on the fly.

  • @muhammadumer7833
    @muhammadumer7833 Год назад +12

    Stephen has earned my respect time and again because of these interviews.
    You asked all the right and natural questions. These were all the questions I wanted to ask George.
    Youre an exceptional host because you adapt as per your guests.
    God bless.
    Love from Pakistan 🇵🇰

  • @bethhawks8678
    @bethhawks8678 Год назад +9

    I just went to symphonyspace and watched this reading. He's right. It is stunningly beautiful.

  • @ammaleslie509
    @ammaleslie509 Год назад +30

    I wasn't interested in this guest. But then Stephen said "one of my favorite authors", and i trust his taste. So I watched and was amazed and wish they'd do an hour together.

    • @micaeladelgado76
      @micaeladelgado76 Год назад +5

      Same with me

    • @TheLadyBlerd
      @TheLadyBlerd Год назад +2

      Ngl I was just letting the playlist run trying to get to sleep... now I'm about to google more about this guy 😅😅😅

  • @dandanner3111
    @dandanner3111 Год назад +8

    Ah, that's what's wrong with me. I have Life-block... stupidly high expectations of life.

    • @julesmm
      @julesmm Год назад +2

      Exactly! 😂😂😂

    • @RandyWilsonESQ
      @RandyWilsonESQ Год назад +1

      yes! i am much happier now that i consciously work on lowering expectations for everything

  • @Chiater
    @Chiater Год назад +7

    I love these intelligent conversations. I come to expect them from Stephen and find I Wade through the Hollywood star interviews (which on occasion can surprise me but usually are more shallow) to wait for one of these gems

  • @emilytamayomaher
    @emilytamayomaher Год назад +17

    Wow, so admire George Saunders and now admire Stephen Colbert even more.

  • @Achdujeh
    @Achdujeh Год назад +10

    I already like that Interview before watching it, because I LOOOOOOOOVE George Saunders' "The Very Persistant Gappers of Frip' with Lane Smiths sweet Illustrations OMG!
    And I love short stories, and now that I know he writes short stories to I will definetely go buy more of him.

  • @carbine090909
    @carbine090909 Год назад +8

    my daughter turned me onto him, love his work, yhanks for hosting him!

  • @janetfrench1576
    @janetfrench1576 Год назад +5

    I loved, loved , loved " Lincoln in the Bardo"! Please read if you have not.

  • @matthewcates2337
    @matthewcates2337 Год назад +10

    Man, I needed this.

  • @rjtroy2214
    @rjtroy2214 Год назад +8

    Interviews like this are 100x better than interviews with most movie and tv stars

  • @jeannefoster5594
    @jeannefoster5594 Год назад +26

    Short stories are magical. So well done. I avoid reading them because they’re so great I don’t want them to end.

  • @wendelynanderson9517
    @wendelynanderson9517 Год назад +6

    Visual artists too are about letting the process determine the outcome.

  • @reneekad
    @reneekad Год назад +4

    That Stephen King short story about the siblings and the ladder keeps coming up.

  • @kernjames
    @kernjames Год назад +7

    Saunders, what a genius.

  • @sanjanasp8222
    @sanjanasp8222 Год назад +2

    "Have a plan and be willing to abandon it" someone tell Musk? :D

  • @samkurlekar
    @samkurlekar Год назад +4

    This was such a beautiful interview that went beyond platitudes and crowd pleasing. Rare to see those nowadays

  • @OrangeDurito
    @OrangeDurito Год назад +4

    Ah what a lovely interview this was! He is so articulate and eloquent with his way of explaining things. Thank you for introducing me to him.

  • @Booksandchess
    @Booksandchess Год назад +4

    Please interview more authors of this caliber

  • @screenwriterabdullahh.erak2778
    @screenwriterabdullahh.erak2778 Год назад +4

    As a huge fan of Mr. Saunders, I want to thank you Mr. Colbert for having him on YOUR show!!!

  • @steveconn
    @steveconn Год назад +10

    The ending is usually something writers have in mind even if the story shifts on the way. "Beautiful border guards?"

    • @12x2richter
      @12x2richter Год назад +4

      I'm no professional, but I've written a few short stories, and generally I think of it as "I've thought of the punchline, now I have to write the joke"

    • @marshwetland3808
      @marshwetland3808 Год назад +3

      On horses coming down a hill. It could be beautiful. Since he's not trying to escape them but rather got good info from them!

    • @dianarosen3861
      @dianarosen3861 Год назад +1

      @@marshwetland3808 maybe they were women.

  • @lionelflores1775
    @lionelflores1775 Год назад +7

    Great explanations of discovery!

  • @BestFitSquareChannel
    @BestFitSquareChannel Год назад +8

    A lovely, lovely human being… 🥂

  • @GavinKing22
    @GavinKing22 Год назад +5

    Great lecture!

  • @djameson5576
    @djameson5576 Год назад +3

    Everyone, check out "MY FLAMBOYANT GRANDSON" by him and performed by Harris Yulin.

  • @annevandenbosch5309
    @annevandenbosch5309 Год назад +1

    When do you find yourself on RUclips taking away life lessons, getting schooled in writing and feeling still for the kindness you just watched? Only with Colbert baby, only with Colbert.

  • @McLKeith
    @McLKeith Год назад +3

    "Getting to that place where your mind has quieter, all your usual easy opinions get. You get into a Holy state of not knowing anything."
    That sounds pretty Zen to me.

    • @nancya7289
      @nancya7289 Год назад

      I think Ezra Klein interviewed Saunders where they discussed the impact of practicing meditation.

  • @stefanfrankel8157
    @stefanfrankel8157 Год назад +2

    This guy looks like one of Castle's writing buddies in the TV show.

  • @KARYTTAH_PopMetal_Rock_BAND
    @KARYTTAH_PopMetal_Rock_BAND Год назад +2

    > 😏 Maybe We're The 1st Spiritist* Pop-Metal Or Rock Band In This World...
    But Don't Pay Much Attention To Our Neanderthal English, HaHa ❤ HaHa
    *NOTE:
    > Spiritist is who professes Spiritism, the Gospel continuation
    It has began with the books by Allan Kardec and continued in the books by Francisco C. Xavier, the greatest and more important medium/prophet of spirits of the last centuries...

  • @janinemeier7201
    @janinemeier7201 Год назад +2

    This was another great interview. Colbert brings such interesting people on and has a great way of getting them to open up .

  • @cygam00
    @cygam00 Год назад +2

    Wow, this man is amazing! Pick whichever person you think I'm talking about and I guarantee you'll be correct.

  • @alsaunders2490
    @alsaunders2490 Год назад +4

    Way to go uncle george, not my real uncle.

  • @NewMessage
    @NewMessage Год назад +3

    Hershel Walker has the same philosophy about kids.

  • @sarahogawa7035
    @sarahogawa7035 Год назад +2

    Saw the interview. Bought the book. Just read the story. Absolutely amazing! It’s been frightening and surreal to watch the situation unfold these past few years from my expat home in Kyoto, Japan. This story made it even more so. Thank you for this important book recommendation and a great interview with an incredible writer.

  • @aidanmargarson8910
    @aidanmargarson8910 Год назад +2

    they are going to be playing "so what" as they fly toward Jupiter

  • @modernape9878
    @modernape9878 Год назад +1

    at 1:32, Kimmel or Fallon would've made some joke that would've derailed Saunders's whole train of thought. The conversation would have gotten lost in the laughter, never to return with the same passion. You can criticize Colbert for a lot, but I love that he knows when to shut the fuck up and let his guest finish their thought.

  • @summe1972
    @summe1972 Год назад +7

    Brilliant author.

    • @satanicscrotumsucker155
      @satanicscrotumsucker155 Год назад +1

      Yes sir the watch list 😎😎😎🤠and the devil’s hard rock candy mountain circus 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡funny huh?

  • @trevawhitmoyer682
    @trevawhitmoyer682 Год назад +3

    Excellent ethos.

  • @jwnyc3
    @jwnyc3 Год назад +2

    OK well now I know why Saunders is my writing god.

  • @YouGuessIGuess
    @YouGuessIGuess Год назад +1

    If you haven't read anything by Saunders, do yourself a favor and check out one of his short story collections.

  • @DFTBA.
    @DFTBA. Год назад +1

    This interview was just a wonderful break from political mess and even big celebrities. It's just an honest intelligent conversation where the author is treated respectfully and allowed to do most of the talking with prompts to explore another thought once he's done with the story he's telling at any moment... I'd love more of these. I also really like that tie Saunders is wearing for some reason. It just looks so... HIM. It's like someone took his lovely brain and scribbled its essence onto the tie, a pretty bit of chaos that has adjacent thoughts/similar shapes and such but doesn't just repeat the same old same old circular story over and over. It matches him (and I've always thought he's a rare one whose face truly suits his facial hair, not that it matters... just makes him super-pleasant to watch chatting w/Stephen, that and the warm dad vibe in his eyes when he grins). I'd love him to be part of #P4A or just partner somehow with John Green. They're both incredibly thoughtful, sentimental people I like a lot, even more as people than authors though they're both great at their craft, different as their works are (and for different audiences overall).

  • @annsanse2935
    @annsanse2935 Год назад +2

    manage your ego, don't let your ego manage you. you are not your ego.

  • @reneekad
    @reneekad Год назад +1

    Kim used to tell me Britney Spears hung out at Starbucks there.

  • @vargasfamily282
    @vargasfamily282 Год назад +3

    Love the book cover!

  • @bettyvick2850
    @bettyvick2850 Год назад +1

    Fox 8 is such a wonderful book. 🦊

  • @tcreative8030
    @tcreative8030 Год назад +2

    George is the best!!!

  • @vicj2141
    @vicj2141 Год назад +2

    Good questions.

  • @amygeyer1166
    @amygeyer1166 Год назад +1

    I watch Rachel, I buy a book, I watch Stephen, I buy a book 😊

  • @suekelsey1329
    @suekelsey1329 Год назад +1

    Awesome
    Thank You!!!

  • @reneekad
    @reneekad Год назад +1

    Kim told me Bob Saggat lived there

  • @BigPhilly15
    @BigPhilly15 10 месяцев назад

    I’m a conservative who loves George Saunders’s fiction. Brilliant, funny writer.

  • @peggygallagher5802
    @peggygallagher5802 Год назад +2

    🙏💜✌

  • @alfrednewman2234
    @alfrednewman2234 Год назад +1

    Just under 2 yrs to get out the vote.

  • @macforme
    @macforme Год назад

    Great guest ...but I guess no one around here proofreads the Closed Captions before publication.... they were dreadful.
    eg: To me, that's Chicago in a shutshell.

  • @6p00l
    @6p00l Год назад +1

    Amazing insights and interview

  • @scritthekid5943
    @scritthekid5943 5 месяцев назад

    Imagine a time when people, even brilliant people, sincerely believed Joe Biden would save America, The same people who prayed to the great Savior Obama.

  • @MelissaThompson432
    @MelissaThompson432 8 месяцев назад

    I was not able to get Symphony Space to give up the reading. I would love to have a link to it.

  • @peterschild4015
    @peterschild4015 Год назад

    His jeans are the exact same color as the chair he's sitting on. I can't tell where the jeans stop and the sofa starts.

  • @globalwarmhugs7741
    @globalwarmhugs7741 Год назад +1

    America was not built by mutual consensus.

    • @quicoule
      @quicoule Год назад +1

      No one said the consensus came easily

    • @globalwarmhugs7741
      @globalwarmhugs7741 Год назад +3

      @@quicoule it wasn't a consensus. It was built upon the backs of people who were stolen, upon stolen land.

  • @MissyGail4eva
    @MissyGail4eva Год назад +1

    dibs on 2nd

  • @ceebs648
    @ceebs648 Год назад

    Brilliant Interview. I’m currently reading Tenth of December and it’s fantastic. He has become one of my favourite authors.

  • @nicolamcguinness8689
    @nicolamcguinness8689 Год назад

    John larch talk about Jamie dornan

  • @iamthirdyt
    @iamthirdyt Год назад

    4:28 I’m so glad from the results of this midterm election we can see that the majority of Americans is still nice and have basic decency and common sense. It’s heartwarming to see Democrats AND lots of Republicans come together and say Trump is toxic, egoistic, and just a mean bully, and say enough is enough. I’m so glad from the results of this midterm election we can see that the majority of Americans is still nice and have basic decency and common sense. It’s heartwarming to seen Democrats AND lots of Republicans come together and say Trump is toxic, egoistic, and just a mean bully, and enough is enough. We don’t have to keep going backwards! Faith in America is restored! There is hope!

  • @anitawebster9450
    @anitawebster9450 Год назад

    This was my process when making jewelry too: I know what I want to make; I take it apart at LEAST 3 times; NOW I'm happy with what I made. Every time! 👍

  • @robyntarantino3151
    @robyntarantino3151 Год назад

    Loved Fox 8 - although it also crushed me...

  • @bluewheels3980
    @bluewheels3980 Год назад

    Can anyone share a link to the short story reading that Steven did they were talking about in the segment or is it behind a paywall?

  • @mrburns1436
    @mrburns1436 Год назад

    What an engaging guest! Dang this interview was way too short.

  • @calpal9983
    @calpal9983 Год назад

    Great interview!

  • @J.AF.16
    @J.AF.16 Год назад

    A good gambler has gotta know when to hold'em and know when to fold'em.

  • @MusicGuru09
    @MusicGuru09 Год назад +1

    *Only two people talk about wisdom*
    *one who is older and*
    *The other one who has stumbled a lot at a young age*

  • @reneekad
    @reneekad Год назад

    I like fun but I prefer to do a lot or work too

    • @reneekad
      @reneekad Год назад

      Until situations get resolved, and while things are pretty bad on the ground, I stick to fun/lighthearted things.

    • @reneekad
      @reneekad Год назад

      Judging by the looks on peoples faces they are realizing how bad things have been for how long and for returns we haven’t gotten. At all.

  • @marcusantoniusAfterDark
    @marcusantoniusAfterDark Год назад

    Cool. I am 50 and…never heard of him? Read anything? Well i love audi books and of course best list/short list stuff. Must take a look at his work. Maybe i am wrong.