A short story is the ultimate close-up magic trick -- a couple of thousand words to take you around the universe or break your heart.
Neil GaimanRead
As far as I'm concerned, the entire reason for becoming a writer is not having to get up in the morning.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the desire for the freedom that comes with being a writer, avoiding the traditional constraints of a daily job.
Neil Gaiman emphasizes the allure of a writer's lifestyle, particularly the flexibility it offers compared to conventional employment. The statement reflects a longing for autonomy and creativity, suggesting that writing allows for a more liberated existence, where one can escape the typical morning grind that many people face.
Themes
WritingFreedomCreativityAutonomyLifestyle
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational workshop about pursuing one’s passion, this quote can illustrate the liberating power of creativity.
More from Neil Gaiman
All quotes →Jesus. Low-Key Lyesmith," said Shadow. and then he heard what he was saying and he understood. "Loki," he said. "Loki Lie-smith." "You're slow," said Loki, "but you get there in the end." And his lips twisted into a scarred smile and the embers danced in the shadows of his eyes.
Neil GaimanRead
As a teenager I wrote to R.A. Lafferty. And he responded, too, with letters that were like R.A. Lafferty short stories, filled with elliptical answers to straight questions and simple answers to complicated ones.
Neil GaimanRead
The important thing to understand about American history, wrote Mr. Ibis, in his leather-bound journal, is that it is fictional, a charcoal-sketched simplicity for the children, or the easily bored.
Neil GaimanRead
Nothing’s changed. You’ll go home. You’ll be bored. You’ll be ignored. No one will listen to you, really listen to you. You’re too clever and too quiet for them to understand. They don’t even get your name right.
Neil GaimanRead
I like the stars. It's the illusion of permanence, I think. I mean, they're always flaring up and caving in and going out. But from here, I can pretend...I can pretend that things last. I can pretend that lives last longer than moments. Gods come, and gods go. Mortals flicker and flash and fade. Worlds don't last; and stars and galaxies are transient, fleeting things that twinkle like fireflies and vanish into cold and dust. But I can pretend.
Neil GaimanRead
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My desire as a storyteller is to always catch the readers off guard; to give them something they aren't expecting, and take them in a direction that is satisfying in the here and non.
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Now art should never try to be popular. The public should try to make itself artistic.
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The symbol of all art is the Prism. The goal is unrealism. The method is destructive. To break up the white light of objective realism, into the secret glories which it contains.
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Pop art is about liking things.
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The artist must be in his work as God is in creation, invisible and all-powerful; one must sense him everywhere but never see him.
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