Neil Gaiman on Why Your Art Matters
Pieces of Advice on Your Journey as a Creative Freelancer regarding Making Art, Planning a Career, and Being Vulnerable
The latest book published by Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell holds the beautiful name of Art Matters. It consists of a compilation of texts, speeches and blog posts written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Chris Riddell.
Beautifully put together by the joyous, magnificent craft of Chris Riddell, the words of Neil Gaiman can be shared with anyone who’ll put value in art, books, libraries, boldness, creativity.
Today, Neil Gaiman is a famous writer. Among his most well-known works are the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book. Many of his books have earned him awards, from the Hugo, Nebula and Bram Stoker awards.
Recognition, opportunities, money flow in his direction.
But it has been a journey for him to get there. The book shares insights from this journey.
If you too are on a journey to a creative path, you may find wisdom to feed upon in their work. I certainly have.
Here are some of the best pieces I’ve taken from the text and the lecture.
It’s okay not to always have a plan. Just know what you’re excited to do next.
How to frame a career roadmap as a creative freelancer? As for him, he simply didn’t have one.
At best, he had a list. A list of things he wanted to do, that he wrote when he was 15. Stuff like: writing a novel, or writing a Dr. Who Episode. As he moved on in life, he simply crossed item after item off the list.
The other thing he had thought in lieu of a compass, was a general goal. Something along the line of being a writer, mostly of fiction, able to sustain himself through his craft.
This is nice and sound when you say it out loud, but in real life, how to know which are the steps that will get you closer to this goal?
How to know you’re on the right track as you move on? How to pick a job, a freelancing mission, and know when to just take time for yourself?
There’s no golden rule regarding opportunities. They can be good or bad for you depending on your current situation.
Well, since words always help, why not see it through a metaphor?
Picture your goal as a huge mountain.
It’s in the distance and there’s not one clear path towards it, but you can more or less figure out if your next step is getting you closer to it.
One can turn down actual, paying, interesting job opportunities because they show up at the wrong time. Because at this point of one’s life, they mean a step backwards from the mountain. It’s a matter of circumstances.
Are you taking this job just for the money? Here’s why you shouldn’t.
One more thing regarding paying opportunities (because yes, even when you aim for a creative life, you still have to feed yourself and pay the bills).
Taking a mission only for its financial value is a short-term calculation that can backfire.
Neil Gaiman shares the story of when he was commissioned to write this one book. It was not an especially thrilling commission, but it was good money. With the advance payment, he bought a typewriter. He finished the book and, he says, should have become rich thanks to the sales…
except the company shut down before he got any paycheck.
Based on his experience his conclusion is that you should not work only for the money. Because if you happen to loose the money, then you’ve lost everything. No money, nor work that you’re proud of. So it was really a loss of time all the way.
What you should do is — take the job for the money, and because the you find it interesting.
It’s okay not always to know if the art you’ve made is good. But make your art.
As for art itself, how do you know if, or when, you’re doing something good?
You don’t. Well at least, Neil Gaiman says he doesn’t, ever. Especially in the beginning of your journey, art can feel like getting out so many bottles in the sea and never knowing whether somebody will catch them.
You get out a hundredth of them only to find one or two coming back to you in the form of recognition, love, money. But many of the things you put out there will get no or little success.
Many of the things you’ll create may not even get out of the drawers (and sometimes, for the better). And some of the things you feel like are going to be such an embarrassment actually become a hit.
As far as Neil Gaiman’s concerned, many pieces when he felt he was walking naked in the woods were actually the ones that worked the most.
The only thing you can focus on is, making good art.
And more importantly maybe, making your art.
You are unique and no one can do you better than yourself.
And then, why does it matter to make art in the end? To share the stories. To expand each other’s horizons. To endure the bad days and make the good ones even better. Because ‘the world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.’
And when you actually become successful, when the number of bottles coming back at you becomes overwhelming — if you’re lucky enough to experience that, you’ll become acquainted with the problem of success.
They’re real problems too: learning to say no. Keeping doing the things you want to do.
But also, Neil Gaiman has one piece of advice to give in these circumstances.
It was given to him by Stephen King, and he says it’s the best piece of advice he ever failed to listen.
It simply says:
Enjoy the ride.
Garance Coggins
