Neil Gaiman & the launch of the CNIW
5 March 2015
by Leimar Garcia-Siino
Report on the School of the Arts’ Neil Gaiman Event and Launch of The Centre for New and International Writing on March 5th and 6th 2015
On March 5, the University of Liverpool was very proud to welcome Honorary Visiting Professor Neil Gaiman to the launch of the Centre for New and International Writing. He began by giving a brief overview of the origin of story – that place where characters, settings, and story ideas come from – emphasizing how the writer can utilize even unlikely sources of input to create stories. His first read of the night, ‘Down to a Sunless Sea’, for example, came from an editor requesting a story about water, which got Neil thinking about sea voyages and the women left behind by sailors, waiting for their return.
Listening to Gaiman read is an amazing experience and it is one that reminds us that stories aren’t there merely to convey a transcendental meaning, reflect insightfully on the state of society, or to challenge narrative conventions and other such critical notions (though of course, they can and do), but exist primarily to be enjoyed. Neil reads fully aware of the melodiousness of language and words, as though each line, each sound, should be savoured and treasured instead of hastily consumed.
After the sensory delight of this reading, Neil moved on to the Q&A part of the event, sifting through a series of questions submitted previously by the audience in a relaxed, intimate and conversational tone. He addressed questions like: “Which authors were influential to you as a child?” (Answer: CS Lewis, PL Travers, Tolkien, though his perceptions of them have changed since childhood; see ‘The Problem of Susan’ short story), and “Which author would you choose to give a talk on you?” (A: “Authors influenced by my works; those authors who came after me.”)
Most interesting were his replies to questions concerning his writing methods and his relationship to genre(s). When asked about whether the proliferation of Gothic writing had affected the way in which it is produced, Neil replied that he doesn’t believe so. Instead, he believes that literature is a reflection of what the world feels like – i.e., how people feel about the world they live in. For him, his works are reflections of his interests, his reading habits, his life, etc, set to what he calls different ‘blender settings’. He recalls how his wife, artist and musician Amanda Palmer, described her own methods of songwriting:
“Authors and artists have ‘blender settings’. They take all of the bits that make them up, all the things they experience, and toss it into a blender. Depending on the speed setting, you’ll see either still-whole chunks of their life in the product, or an amalgamated mass. The blender setting is whatever it needs to be.”
Neil further explained that what most appeals to him in terms of writing is that nobody gets to tell him what to do and that he is able to try as many things as possible without feeling constrained by genre conventions or societal expectations. At the same time, he is expressly aware of the difficulties facing the young writer – the fears of failure, the self-imposed pressure of quantity and quality, and the desire to find their own voice. On both the Thursday evening talk and the masterclass the following day, Neil was particularly emphatic about these issues. During the Q&As at both events, he addressed the question of managing writer’s block, aiming to demystify the idea:
“‘How do you break writer’s block?’ Well, the thing is, I think ‘writer’s block’ is this thing made up by writers as a way of deflecting from the truth – the fact that you’re a bit stuck. It’s a way of implying the fault lies elsewhere, as though imposed by the gods, or the muses, or fate. Don’t believe in it! Instead, admit that you’re stuck, which will reveal two things: 1. that getting stuck is fixable – yes, it’s your fault, and maybe changes, even major changes, are needed, but you can fix it; and 2. maybe you’re having a hard-writing day, therefore take a break – write some emails, write another story, write on Facebook or Twitter about your hard-writing day. Just keep writing. The most important thing about being a writer is forward motion.”
To this he added much more advice, like how even though endings are the most difficult part of writing, you have to learn to tame them (“Have an ending in mind, but know that it’s changeable. Essentially, keep writing till you run out of words.”), how you should write what you want to read and be passionate about it (“Always keep the audience in mind, and simultaneously don’t care about it. Write knowing someone will read it, but don’t write to please your audience”), and how important it is to realize that it’s not others that brand you a ‘professional writer’, but yourself: “Show things to other people, put them on the web, on blogs, whatever; just keep writing; write enough to get good.” Also: “Don’t alphabetize your spice rack!” meaning, focus and remember forward motion.
His advice also included how to find your own voice (“Imitation in the beginning is not a bad thing. ‘Style’ is the stuff you do wrong, the stuff you can’t help doing and allows ‘you’ to come through, so learn about yourself through the act of imitation.”), about writing out of your comfort zone (“Yes! Do it! And read out of your comfort zone too! It will take you places you wouldn’t otherwise go.”), and about how to make characters ‘whole’ (“Listen to them; familiarize yourself with how they speak, what they sound like, what they say and do. Steal bits from people, but not whole people!”).
In addition, in what might be a bit of Neil-trivia and what can perhaps be claimed as exclusive to the event, was his comments on a possible sequel to Good Omens. Though it is unlikely to occur, even more so now with the passing of Sir Terry Pratchett, it had nonetheless been discussed, so it is a pleasure to include it here. The story would have centred on the second coming of Christ, with the secret agent angels losing the Messiah, forcing our favourite angel/devil duo to travel to America to try to find him. Those of us who are fans of those Nice and Accurate Prophesies might still hold on to some slight glimmer of hope for this being developed in the future, however far-flung that might be.
Neil ended the Thursday evening event with a reading of ‘October Tale’, one of the Twitter-inspired stories from ‘A Calendar of Tales’ – a sweet and romantic story where Gaiman seemed to be channelling both Robin Williams’ Genie and John de Lancie’s Q, and he finished the Friday masterclass with a delightfully spooky reading of ‘Click-Clack the Rattlebag’ – the type of story you want told on a stormy night or around a campfire.
It was the perfect way to end what were two fantastic (pun intended) days, that were full of magic and wonder, and yet usefully demystified and down-to-earth. Neil reminded us all that reading and writing is one of the most culturally collaborative processes there is, and that though consisting of hard work, dedication, time and effort, it is still, first and foremost, fun.