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Thank you so much to Neil for giving us his time today - and thank you all for your questions! And yes, he has an answer for the very popular baboon versus badger question: jonty101 says:
> You seemed to have been heavily involved in the Good Omens > adaptation, what was your role exactly and how did that differ to > your role on the American Gods adaptation? magoway
says: > Your Nordic Myths book is fantastic. I grew up reading these > stories, but I don't think I've ever read them so alive and > powerfully told, except in their
original versions, but those can be > terse and difficult, being written in Nordic 1000 years ago. I'm > curious what books you relied upon when you wrote these stories, and >
what methodology you used to retell these myths in such a strong, > simple and human way? > > And furthermore, did you enjoy writing this book? What did it do for > you?
Leftfielding says: > I loved the work you did on Sandman and Mr Punch in particular. Does > knowing which artists you will be collaborating with on an issue > ever inform the way
you write the story e.g. would you craft the > tale differently if Sam Keith was illustrating than you would if say > Dave McKean was? StumblingHome has a question about Neil's
episode of Doctor Who, The Doctor's Wife: > Have there been any talks about doing another episode? My daughter > (10) is just discovering both Doctor Who and the Graveyard book,
so > combining the two again would blow her mind. MimHaworth asks: > I'm taking your Masterclass right now, generously gifted by a nice > person on Twitter who raised more than
she needed to to take it > herself. What was it like recording something like this? How did you > plan out your lessons? And what's the most important piece of advice >
you'd want to pass on for people who simply can't afford it? MissLupescu has a question on behalf of their 10-year-old son: > Have you any plans to write any more
children's books? > > He loves that you narrate your audio books and his pronunciation of > Norse words far surpasses mine now, thanks to your storytelling > skills.
LLCoolJ says: > I'm currently reading _Born to Be Posthumous: The Eccentric Life and > Mysterious Genius of Edward Gorey_ by Mark Dery and was delighted to > find you and
Amanda Palmer mentioned in the introduction. Did you > ever collaborate with Gorey? Have you read the book? Peter Macqueen asks: > Have you read Lincoln in the Bardo? If so, how does
it feel to see > another story using concepts that seem so original to your work in a > story? DeRichleau says: > I've often heard you say that the famous 'dragons'
quote isn't > actually Chesterton… Were you paraphrasing, or did you make it up > entirely? I quote it often and would like to know who to attribute > it to. Thanks! (The quote
is: "Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.") megisacruddywriter asks: > Would you
ever consider touring for high schools in America, and > teaching students about writing, or creating stories? A little preview of Neil's MasterClass: Direleafehall says: > Hi! I
can't make it to the webchat as it will be 3AM, Tassie time, > but I'd love to ask Neil for his favourite book recommendations by > children's authors, women authors and
people of colour, and if he'd > like to share any little-known authors he adores - ones who haven't > made the big time, but who he considers worthy of great things. >
Thank you for taking the time, Neil! KatyaB, who is writing their dissertation on Gaiman's books, asks: > Do you think fantasy is important for helping people understand >
themselves? FirebirdMolloy says: > A friend asked my opinion of their manuscript. It isn't great. I'm > too nervous of upsetting them to be completely honest with my >
feedback. How do you deal with providing criticism, especially if > it's somebody you know? Kevin Chiat has a Sandman question: > Why did you decide to have Lucifer end Seasons of
Mists on a beach > in Perth? Yii-Jen Deng says: > When you write a story with someone, how does it change your > perception of them? Are people very different once you write >
together? franhunny asks: > Have seen Coraline in our local theatre, have read the Graveyard > book and have read Good Omens (even if not along with the Reading > Group but decades
ago) - all very different in style. The difference > to Good Omens is easy to explain, as that is a book you wrote in > collaboration (you do not even know by half how much I envy you
for > having not only met Sir Terry but also to have been able to work > with him). > > But how come your other stuff is varying so much? When I write > stories (no, they are
not worth publishing - I just write for my own > fun), the tone is mainly the same. How do you develop so many > different voices? Is it part of the writing process? Do you >
sometimes start out in a different style and then rewrite parts > later on? Lynden71 says: > There's always talk about a Sandman series or movie and I have > learned to take it
with a pinch of salt unless it comes from you > yourself. So, is there anything productive happening on that front?