Writing Tips
What Makes George Saunders’ “Sticks” Great?
A few simple techniques to improve your short fiction.
My dad passed away almost 20 years ago. The memories I have of him are fading as the days go by. The sound of his voice is just a whisper in my imagination.
The only object of my father’s in my possession is a large Saint Christopher medal he wore his entire life. His life and my memories of him live on as a silver medal I keep next to my old watches.
In fiction, we focus so much on what our characters are thinking, feeling, and saying that we tend to forget about the periphery: the objects our characters hold dear, the rituals and routines they engage in for years, and how, as in life, relationships are forged and nurtured through these objects and rituals.
George Saunders’ “Sticks” is a story about a Dad and his odd hobby of decorating a pole in his front yard. But, what the story is really about is a Dad’s struggle with his relationships with his kids and his struggle with his inevitable death.
The story is also an awesome example of how to craft a meaningful, well-told story by focusing on the periphery of a character — the importance and symbolism of a single object (a pole) and how it reflects the journey of a character (the…
