The WELL: inkwell.vue.156: Neil Gaiman: Coraline

#97: Linda Castellani (castle) Tue 16 Jun 09 18:46

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:46:00 PDT

May 9, 2009 interview with Neil: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article6247618.ece

http://tinyurl.com/p8s29o [Read entire topic]

#96: Neil Gaiman (neilgaiman) Sun 29 Dec 02 09:18

Sun, 29 Dec 2002 09:18:00 PST

Marcy -- well, I've never written anything specifically for kids with allergies; I wonder whether it was "The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish".

I don't think it's a very easy field to break into -- there's a sort of "starting from scratch" quality you don't have in most other fields or genres. I suspect because no-one in publishing goes into children's books to make money -- they go in because they love children's books.

I doubt that having written about sex would count against you; on the other hand, being a published author in another field doesn't count for you, either. [Read entire topic]

#95: Marcy Sheiner (mmarquest) Tue 12 Nov 02 18:57

Tue, 12 Nov 2002 18:57:00 PST

Coming in here way late, but got a reason: this weekend my daughter showed me a brochure that listed books for kids with allergies, and I noticed Neil's name on it. Neil, have you written a book for kids w/ allergies? Can you talk a little bit about it? I've been working on one for my grandson (as well as for publication), so I'm curious.

Truth be told, I tried my hand at children's books many years ago. Wrote half a dozen stories, all were rejected by every publisher I sent them to. So I'd also like to know how hard or easy it is to break into the field. Now that I write so much about sex, it's probably quite hopeless for me! [Read entire topic]

#94: Neil Gaiman (neilgaiman) Sun 13 Oct 02 06:38

Sun, 13 Oct 2002 06:38:00 PDT

Christy -- hmm. Probably Dr Who, as a TV series. The movie that frightened me most age 5-10, was the Wizard of Oz. The movie that frightened me most age 10-13 was Son of Dracula -- the way Dracula turned to smoke and oozed under doors horrified me. I'd always thought you were okay if you shut and locked the door before then. [Read entire topic]

#93: Christy Smith (jonl) Fri 27 Sep 02 07:43

Fri, 27 Sep 2002 07:43:00 PDT

Email from Christy:

Indeed, Coraline was started back when Harry Potter was barely a gleam in Rowling's eye....

Here's a question I've always wanted to ask you, Neil, and it seems appropriate to this topic:

What movie (or TV show) frightened you the most as a kid?

Thanks, Christy [Read entire topic]

#92: Martha Soukup (soukup) Mon 23 Sep 02 13:50

Mon, 23 Sep 2002 13:50:00 PDT

The headline must have been written by someone other than the writer of the piece (but that's usual anyway). The piece makes it pretty clear it's the publishers and agents that are inspired by Harry Potter, not the people writing the books. Harry Potter makes it more possible for an "adult" writer to publish a kids' book. [Read entire topic]

#91: Dodge (hnowell) Mon 23 Sep 02 13:40

Mon, 23 Sep 2002 13:40:00 PDT

And Gaiman and Pratchett and some of those other writers mentioned have been writing books for minors for a while before Rawlings came along. [Read entire topic]

#90: Gail Williams (gail) Mon 23 Sep 02 11:04

Mon, 23 Sep 2002 11:04:00 PDT

Hmmm, yeah, seems to me that publishers may be inspired by Harry Potter sales, but good writers have never lacked the imagination to want to write for kids, too. [Read entire topic]

#89: Dodge (hnowell) Mon 23 Sep 02 10:58

Mon, 23 Sep 2002 10:58:00 PDT

Yeah. Johnny Come Lately is Harry Potter. [Read entire topic]

#88: Dan Wilson (stagewalker) Mon 23 Sep 02 09:46

Mon, 23 Sep 2002 09:46:00 PDT

*snort* Inspired by Harry Potter indeed... [Read entire topic]