Notes on Neil Gaiman's appearance at the Sigma Tau Delta Convention, March 2009

So, I went to the Sigma Tau Delta Convention in Minneapolis. Primarily to see Mr. Gaiman speak, and to support my confederates presenting papers. Though I felt like an ass, I took notes while he was speaking and wish to reproduce some of them here for you lovely internet people to read.

Note, this is just a regurgitation of my notes from the notebook. I'll have something polished put together after I sleep some.

• He mentioned a new project, but was (obviously) unable to comment. Sounds like a long short story or novella, from some other comments he made.
• He also mentioned a collaboration with Stephen Merritt on a musical (being done in "an incredibly lazy way.") I know nothing about it beyond that.
  
• Quotes that felt long while writing, but are very short in typing:

"Good stories...aren't found."

"Things are imagined before they exist."

"In the Beginning was the dream."

"I learned [from working in Journalism] to never believe anything I read in newspapers."

• The only rules for writers are as follows:

1. There are none.
2. Write.
3. Finish things.
4. Start again.
5. Don't keep rewriting it. Send it out now.

There was a very Salman Rushdie moment, in which he stated that the job of the writer is to imagine and to write things down. This is a very interesting thing, for as Mr. Gaiman noted in his talk, everything that isn't grown or "a rock" had to have been imagined, at some point. Every human artifact is the product of imagination.

On the whole, Mr. Gaiman was one of the best speakers that I've ever heard--I hate the term "charming," but he managed. Every so often, he'd have to pause due to the crowd's laughter, and he was fascinating to listen to. I must also state that any man who will sign books for upwards of three hours is worthy of any praise that can be heaped upon him--I stood near the end of the line (with my dog-eared copy of American Gods), and he only stood once to take a five minute bathroom break. The man was a goddamned machine. A hillarious book-signing android of some sort.