tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post7395412330789700218..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: Writing With GaimanAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-17190374626202331252016-10-21T03:09:12.232-06:002016-10-21T03:09:12.232-06:00Neil Gaiman is an excellent author - American Gods...Neil Gaiman is an excellent author - American Gods is a very good book, as far as these thing go and Good Omens is one of my favorites. He could be better, though, and he tends to have very cult fandoms. <br /><br />How I interpreted rule 7 was much like how Daniel did - write jokes you think are funny, not jokes you think that people will think are funny. Becuase many writers these days try to write things they don't understand or care about, and fall flat on thier face. Archonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17718160700690722856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-51059658875531667632016-03-03T22:50:20.072-07:002016-03-03T22:50:20.072-07:00I know Coraline because there was a movie. I reme...I know Coraline because there was a movie. I remember the author of Coraline being interviewed, without ever knowing or caring about his name. I remember he was PISSED about the way they'd treated his story.<br /><br />I never felt any need to dig up the book and read it.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-59193872841609789492016-03-03T21:06:20.575-07:002016-03-03T21:06:20.575-07:00I preach the first six in my writer's group. ...I preach the first six in my writer's group. I waited six months between finishing and editing my last book, also had accumulated a stack of feedback from folks. Going back and reading the 1st draft was like studying a turd. Jomo Risinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13552294536240059611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-47825185668119763692016-03-03T20:58:26.042-07:002016-03-03T20:58:26.042-07:00From what I understand, Gaiman is far better known...From what I understand, Gaiman is far better known for the <i> Sandman </i> series of graphic novels, <i> American Gods </i>, and <i> Neverwhere </i> than for <i> Coraline </i>.<br /><br />And I would offer an alternate interpretation of what Gaiman is saying with Rule 7, which is that you must think what you are writing has merit. Which is implicitly redundant with the first six rules.<br /><br />There are a number of ways to interpret that particular phrase, and all of the ones I see are not nearly as powerful as the first six rules. It looks to me like Gaiman decided to go for something soppy and trite rather than sensible.Danielle Ostermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05688510764917107213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-19563212386096166002016-03-03T19:18:19.970-07:002016-03-03T19:18:19.970-07:00The writer of Coraline is the 800 lb. Gorilla? No...The writer of Coraline is the 800 lb. Gorilla? No wonder in my mind I'm always competing with writers who are dead.<br /><br />It is plain from the rules that he doesn't think writing is easy.<br /><br />Andrew, please take this the best way possible: if that's what Gaiman meant when he wrote Rule 7, then he should have used those words. If the words Gaiman used aren't definitive of what Gaiman actually meant, then he's a pretty crappy writer, isn't he? In any case, I can't think of anything more ridiculous in our modern era than hearing an artist say, "Don't take yourself too seriously." Yes, by all means - let's not be Goethe, Hugo, Hemingway or Austen. Let's not be Joyce, Byron, Coleridge or Fitzgerald. Let's not be Bukowski, James, Williams or Shaw. Let's be fucking Gaiman.<br /><br />Because he writes his own checks.<br /><br />Big woop.<br /><br />He may be a very practical and readable fellow, he may be extraordinarily kind, he may be good to animals and children, he may give his time and his kindness to people who come speak with him, he may be generous and friendly when praised, he may be jovial and funny while speaking. He may be a wonderful and considerate human being. However, we were taking about WRITING.<br /><br />The written phrase, "Laugh at your own jokes," falls flat on its face. It sounds very nice where applied to our personal happiness and the happiness of our friends. But tell me; precisely; don't hedge words; I'm waiting; how does the laughter actually improve MY ability to write jokes that OTHERS will laugh at?<br /><br />I don't think you know, Andrew. I won't hold it against you. I don't think Gaiman knows. That's why it fails so hard following the six precise and practical pieces of advice that come ahead of it. It's the clunker, the piano key that's out of tune, the fart at the end of the soliloquy.<br /><br />Giving him the credit that the first six points won the man, I'm very sure he's smart enough himself to know he blew it there. We all blow it as writers; gawd, it's the worst thing. Damn it, if we'd only written that one damn sentence when we were having a better day.<br /><br />That's what this is; something that needed point 6. Something that needed a fix. Perhaps he's just demonstrating that he's let the six rules go before they reached perfection.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-29960389181198426352016-03-03T18:36:23.404-07:002016-03-03T18:36:23.404-07:00Neil Gaiman is the 800 pound gorilla...the man wri...Neil Gaiman is the 800 pound gorilla...the man writes his own checks, he's so revered. He's an excellent writer that makes it look easy. I only like about half his stuff but I respect the rest. <br /><br />7) I can understand. He's basically saying to not take yourself too seriously. A tall order for any writer, as any writer will say. <br /><br />8) Seems more like a generalized wrap-up and weakens the rest of the list, but I doubt its executive meddling, given who he is. Vectortangramhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12737140203120271356noreply@blogger.com