Hot air balloons and other interesting bits

I went to see Neil Gaiman read/speak at Washington College yesterday evening. A part of the PEN World Voices Festival, it was fantastic. Perhaps the best reading or event I've ever been to. It had changed venues several time and wound up being held outdoors on the campus green, which was just delightful, given the weather. Neil gave a wonderful reading. He really brings the books to life in an amazing way. There was also a fantastic Q&A with Joshua Wolf Shenk and audience members got to chime in at the end with their questions. Neil read once more, then graciously agreed to sign books. Never once impatient, Neil gave thoughtful answers to all the questions and personalized each book (complete with doodles).

And now, I shall share a few of the bits of wisdom I learned from Mr. Gaiman:

1. There is a non-existent sequel (follow-up novella?) to Stardust called Hellflyer, wherein Tristram goes to Hell in a hot air balloon.

2. On the matter of originality: "You tell your stories new. You tell them honestly and they'll be yours."

3. On so-called writer's block: "I don't believe in writer's block. I do believe in being stuck. We're smart, that's why we're writers. We came up with writer's block because we're clever. We make it sound very special."

and (I'm paraphrasing most of this one) On an off day, "every word is rubbish." It's like writing through a migraine, except you don't have a migraine. On a good day, "words drip from your fingers like liquid pearls." But it's never as bad as you think it is. It's also probably never as good as you think it is.

4. On piracy (ARRRRGH) and digital rights management:"The danger most writers face is not piracy, it's obscurity."

5. To new writers looking to be published, he advises building a trusted set of readers and showing your work to those people, but also that you don't listen. In effect, trust them, but also trust yourself. "Plow your own furrow and go your own way and believe in yourself, if necessary, to the point of madness."

And with that, I must be heading off to work. But I had such a wonderful time I couldn't not make a post. I'll leave you with my cheesy fan photo (was so embarrassed to ask for it, but so entirely pleased I did):