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
Some of the things are the same no matter which world you're in, kid. One of 'em is this: The quickest way out of something is usually straight through it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Facing challenges head-on is often the fastest way to overcome them.
In this quote, Neil Gaiman suggests that regardless of the circumstances or the environment one finds themselves in, a universal truth remains: the most effective way to deal with obstacles is to confront them directly. Rather than avoiding difficulties or seeking shortcuts, tackling them straight on leads to faster resolution and progress.
Themes
ChallengeOvercomeFaceWisdomTruth
In practice
Example use cases
A motivational speech about overcoming personal challenges.
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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The youth do not see the old. They are not programmed to see the old, who are cancelled, negated, wiped out.
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