neil-gaiman

[neil-gaiman]

I juste wanted to Say that when we were watching Dead Boy Detectives Last night in the day it released the moment they used "She" for death he and I looked at each other with pure joy hoping to see Kirby Howell-Baptiste and the show delivered.

She is so perfect for the role, playing it with such kindness and compassion it's truly inspired casting and phenomenal acting I can't wait to see more of her in future Sandman episodes or in more Dead Boy Detectives.

Thanks for going for completely open casting it truly paid off (Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne and Jenna Coleman as Constantine are equally fantastic)!

Kirby is a wonder. As a wonder and as an actress.

[neil-gaiman]

Hello! I am a young -like, under eighteen- aspiring author and I am currently writing a book. I am nervous about the whole affair and would enjoy some advice! Why, I pretend I hear you asking? It's because I'm worried that the... uh, excrement will hit the fan.

I would really appreciate tips, especially from you, cause you're a literary genius and an author, so if you have any tips- well, I'd appreciate the advice.

In other words. HOW DO I WRITE PLEASE TELL ME YOUR SECRETS!

Thanks!

You write. You finish things. You write the nest thing. You make your peace with the things you write not being as good as the things in your head. You keep writing.

Once you've started writing things that aren't as bad as the first things, you start letting people see them.

[neil-gaiman]

Here is a Draft I Wrote on August 24th, 2023

Hello. Today is my 46th birthday. I am really happy to be here. I am especially happy to be here because my previous selves did so much work--including when they did not want to be here--to make sure that I would have a chance to walk in the woods on a very hot August day and marvel in gratitude.

[neil-gaiman]

Y'all, the world is sleeping on what NASA just pulled off with Voyager 1

The probe has been sending gibberish science data back to Earth, and scientists feared it was just the probe finally dying. You know, after working for 50 GODDAMN YEARS and LEAVING THE GODDAMN SOLAR SYSTEM and STILL CHURNING OUT GODDAMN DATA.

So they analyzed the gibberish and realized that in it was a total readout of EVERYTHING ON THE PROBE. Data, the programming, hardware specs and status, everything. They realized that one of the chips was malfunctioning.

So what do you do when your probe is 22 Billion km away and needs a fix? Why, you just REPROGRAM THAT ENTIRE GODDAMN THING. Told it to avoid the bad chip, store the data elsewhere.

Sent the new code on April 18th. Got a response on April 20th - yeah, it's so far away that it took that long just to transmit.

And the probe is working again.

From a programmer's perspective, that may be the most fucking impressive thing I have ever heard.

[neil-gaiman]

Esther the Witch from Dead Boy Detectives is my new obsession. She is hilarious and terrible and steals every scene.

Really fun, charming, weird show. Been watching it on a loop since this morning while I work.

[neil-gaiman]

Scars on your body show that you have lived; scars on your heart show that you have loved.

Nina Dul

[neil-gaiman]

A satirical papyrus showing a lady mouse being served wine by a cat while another cat dresses her hair, a third cares for her baby, and a fourth fans her. The mice have hilarious huge, round ears.

Where: Egyptian Museum Cairo

When: New Kingdom

#Talk to Egyptologists about Pnw #pn.w is the middle Egyptian word for mouse

[neil-gaiman]

When you and Sir Terry were collaborating on GO did you ever disagree on some plot point or other aspect of the project, and if so, how would you go about ironing it out?

Not that I remember.

[neil-gaiman]

By the way, does it matter to netflix in which language I watch the show?

NO.

[neil-gaiman]

Colleen Doran’s artwork in Snow, Glass, Apples is just stunning and I know she cites the Irish stained glass artist, Harry Clarke, as an inspiration. Just wondering if you’ve ever seen his work in person? If not, I highly recommend a visit to the Honan Chapel in University College Cork or the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork city.

I have, although my favourite Clarke windows are in the Ashdown House Hotel in Wych Cross, Sussex. (Which, when it was Banking corporate training offices, was part of my inspiration for Fawney Rig in Sandman.)

[neil-gaiman]

What’s your favourite line from good omens?

The invisible and unbreakable one that joins Crowley and Aziraphale.

[neil-gaiman]

Hi Neil,

I write to you because I find myself without answers, and who better to turn to than you, the person who has arguably raised the most questions in my life due to your lovely stories.

I currently live with my dad and step mother, his two sons (my brothers) and her two children. There are a lot of us in one space right now and it’s safe to say we don’t get along very well.

Getting to the point, I want to live on my own. I have the means to do so (hypothetically). I have a job and a car and savings put back, but up until recently it hadn’t occurred to me that leaving was an option. I always thought it wasn’t allowed for some reason. That there would be consequences for revoking my presence from them like I’m their favorite toy instead of a person.

The fear, I suppose, is that they won’t forgive me for leaving. That I’ll leave and fail somehow. That I won’t be able to come back from the hubris that is thinking I could do things on my own. Truly though, the real danger is that I’ll never be in a place where I can be myself without some all consuming guilt gnawing at my stomach.

The question is whether or not to deal with the current circumstances or risk losing everything for the chance at success.

Can you get the things you want and keep the things you have?

Sincerely, a huge fan wishing they had a beloved Bentley to live in and offering condolences for the rant.

As a parent, you are doing your job when your children leave the nest and become independent. It means you did something right.

As a child, it's always scary to leave. But it's necessary. You aren't punishing the people you are leaving. You are beginning your journey to independence.

[neil-gaiman]

O great Neil Gaiman, creator of the godly Oracular Journal, why is the Oracle down? I use it for all my decisions but now my very prosperous and fruitful life has come to a complete standstill because for the first time since I was enlightened by this fantastical page, the Oracle does not answer my questions. Whatever shall I do? (Please do not say it is my wi-fi for I decided my router choice based on your Oracle's foresightful commands.)

I don't know. I will tell the web goblin that it is down, though.

[neil-gaiman]

Hi ! From what I've understood, you wrote the scene with Death in the first episode of Dead Boy Detectives. At that time, a stanza from a Kipling's poem is quoted. After a quick search, I've understood it was coming from "The Sack of the Gods". Was this reference already in the comics (I haven't read it yet)? And if you can answer, what does the poem mean in general to be put in this scene? English is not my mother tongue, there's too little explanation of the poem on the Internet (and no translation), and it is quite hard to get a meaning of it. Thanks ! :)

No, I don't think the reference is in the comic. You would need to find a translation of the poem into your mother tongue.

[neil-gaiman]

Neil,

Not that you would want to, but I was just curious. When the GO series is complete, would you be allowed to engage with fancontent without fear of legal recourse or reprisal?

I guess. But that would also mean I could never again go back to Good Omens. So although things like Coraline are complete, I still don't read the fan fiction.

[neil-gaiman]

I just realized I sent a public apology that was meant to have been sent as a private apology. I've deleted it.

[neil-gaiman]

Hi Neil, did you know there's a note on their bench in St James's Park that says not to bother you? (I do understand the irony of asking this)

I did not know that.