4 Things I Learned from Neil Gaiman
Background: Neil Gaiman is a multi-award winning writer and creator. Author of the epic SANDMAN graphic novel series, he has won several Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker awards for both his adult and children’s stories, including Coraline and American Gods. He is also one of my literary idols.
So last year, I found out Neil Gaiman was coming to my city three days before the event. Of course everything was booked out. Of course I cried. But this year? This year I was lucky enough to snap up tickets for myself and my partner, and last night we got to watch his show The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains.
Here are 4 things I learned.
1. APPROACH CREATION AS A CHALLENGE AND A JOY
The moment Gaiman got onto stage, you could see how much he enjoyed what he did. It came out in the timbre of his voice, the expressiveness of his reading, the excitement in his stories.
But in between the jokes and readings, he made casual asides about how hard the work was. And about how he kept pushing himself harder. At one point, he discussed how Twitter challenges had prompted him to write a number of stories across 2-3 days, although he’d originally planned to write a story an hour. Another meeting of like minds led to him collaborating with a group of artists to record 8 songs in 8 hours, recording it live and posting to Twitter. They ended up creating 6 songs in 12 hours.
You could say that both times, he failed.
I think that would be pretty short-sighted, considering what he ended up creating as a result of those challenges.
I think what I really got from this was an insight into how Gaiman constantly keeps producing such quality work. Simply put, he keeps challenging himself to do more and more, testing his own limits and pushing the boundaries. And just as importantly, he approaches this backbreaking work and these challenges with joy.
2. COLLABORATE WITH EXPERTS IN THEIR FIELD
There is no doubt that Gaiman himself was a polished and fantastic entertainer. However, what made the night truly mesmerising was the powerful combination of Gaiman, the quartet Fourplay, the illustrations by Eddie Campbell, and the guest appearance of Amanda Palmer.
Each are experts in their own field. The show opened with Fourplay, who proceeded to immerse the crowd in breathtaking, evocative music that drew us into the night. Then they accompanied Neil and Amanda for several of their songs. And while Gaiman’s reading of The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains was masterful by itself, Fourplay’s gloomy atmospherics and haunting melodies in the background made it impossible to look away or catch a breath.
Similarly, Eddie Campbell’s illustrations wrapped you in Gaiman’s haunting, dark fairytale. And Amanda Palmer’s powerful voice absolutely blew us away. So I think the lesson is pretty clear. One fantastic creator makes for a fantastic creation. Two or more will make it exponentially more awesome.
I think this is a particularly important lesson because so often, creative pursuits are seen as solitary. Writers are alone, tapping at their keyboards or scrawling in their notepads. Songwriters are alone, working with their software and instruments. Artists are alone, in front of their easel or tablet.
But we’re not. We’re actually not. And if we join forces, Captain Planet will save us all, we will create art that transcends each of us.
3. ANYTHING CAN MAKE A STORY
One of the stories Gaiman read was about card-playing, cheating, sock-hating ducks. One of his poems was his reaction to the Charlie Hebdo massacre. One of his songs was about the megafauna of Australia, the monstrous wombats and carnivorous kangaroos, the ‘nightmares’ that used to inhabit the country.
They were all brilliant.
So when I’m angsting about what story to next greenlight, or even just tearing my hair out about what to put in a story in general, I’m going to remember this. Pretty much anything can make a story. It’s how you shape it that matters.
4. CREATE
This quite possibly overlaps with some of the earlier lessons, but I don’t care. One of the things I truly admire about Gaiman is that he just keeps creating, and he doesn’t limit himself either. Here’s his biography from Amazon:
I make things up and write them down. Which takes us from comics (like SANDMAN) to novels (like ANANSI BOYS and AMERICAN GODS) to short stories (some are collected in SMOKE AND MIRRORS) and to occasionally movies (like Dave McKean’s MIRRORMASK or the NEVERWHERE TV series, or my own short film A SHORT FILM ABOUT JOHN BOLTON).
Well, even this fails to encapsulate the fact that he’s written episodes for Dr. Who, as well as several hilarious songs and gorgeous poems. And sometimes he sings those songs and recites those poems, and that recreates it into something different altogether.
Essentially, he just keeps creating, in every format, whatever will tell the story. He’s a storyteller.
Now that’s something to aspire to.
What are things that you’ve learned from Gaiman? Comment below, would love to hear from you!