neil-gaiman

My Linked Notes

• 2021-02-07
  

  The Farmer's Secret - and [[Neil Gaiman]]'s

• 2021-02-07
  

  In [[Friday Finds]] this week, [[David Perrell]] sent an awesome video of [[Neil Gaiman]] interviews. In the first one, someone asks where he gets his ideas. Like the farmer, Neil gives the man a disappointing reply, which is that writers "don't really know and are terrified the ideas will go away" (1:00). Later, he ends by joking "I don't know, you make them up, out of your head" (4:25). But Neil did have much more wisdom in his answer than that. Between his jokes, he says "writers tend to train themselves to notice when they have an idea. It's not that they have any more ideas or get inspired more than anyone else, we just notice when it happens a little bit more" (2:10). This is the same message as the farmer, who tells the young man "I’m afraid I have no secrets to share. Every day, I tend to the crops and feed the animals. I nurture the farm, and in turn, it nurtures me.”

One last thing

If you liked these notes, hit me on Twitter!