A short story is the ultimate close-up magic trick -- a couple of thousand words to take you around the universe or break your heart.
Neil GaimanRead
Writers are liars my dear, surely you know that by now?
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writers often create fictional worlds that may not reflect reality, hence they are like liars.
In this quote, Neil Gaiman suggests that the essence of writing involves fabrication and imagination. Writers often construct narratives, characters, and worlds that are not true in the factual sense, yet they convey deeper truths and emotions. By labeling writers as liars, Gaiman highlights the paradox of storytelling: that the most compelling tales are often born from a blend of reality and imaginative deception.
Themes
WritersFictionStorytellingTruthImagination
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, to illustrate the creative process, one might say, 'Writers are liars my dear, surely you know that by now?' to encourage participants to embrace their imaginative freedom.
More from Neil Gaiman
All quotes →Jesus. Low-Key Lyesmith," said Shadow. and then he heard what he was saying and he understood. "Loki," he said. "Loki Lie-smith." "You're slow," said Loki, "but you get there in the end." And his lips twisted into a scarred smile and the embers danced in the shadows of his eyes.
Neil GaimanRead
As a teenager I wrote to R.A. Lafferty. And he responded, too, with letters that were like R.A. Lafferty short stories, filled with elliptical answers to straight questions and simple answers to complicated ones.
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The important thing to understand about American history, wrote Mr. Ibis, in his leather-bound journal, is that it is fictional, a charcoal-sketched simplicity for the children, or the easily bored.
Neil GaimanRead
Nothing’s changed. You’ll go home. You’ll be bored. You’ll be ignored. No one will listen to you, really listen to you. You’re too clever and too quiet for them to understand. They don’t even get your name right.
Neil GaimanRead
I like the stars. It's the illusion of permanence, I think. I mean, they're always flaring up and caving in and going out. But from here, I can pretend...I can pretend that things last. I can pretend that lives last longer than moments. Gods come, and gods go. Mortals flicker and flash and fade. Worlds don't last; and stars and galaxies are transient, fleeting things that twinkle like fireflies and vanish into cold and dust. But I can pretend.
Neil GaimanRead
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