Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Neil Gaiman Has Done Something Wonderful

Which is really nothing new, but, you know.

It all started with Twitter and Blackberry. On February 4, Gaiman tweeted twelve questions, one per hour, to his followers, themed around the months of the year. Out of the many, many responses he got for each month, he chose a prompt for a quick short story, around 1000 words. Then, over the next three days, and with a camera crew hanging over his shoulder, he wrote the stories. 'Nuff said on that account.

The stories are now available as a PDF download here. They're all quite wonderful, in that way Gaiman has. I've said for years that he's one of our best magical realists, and these stories prove it. They're all fantastic, but very grounded, very human, reminding me of what it's like, trying to get through this life. Some are sad, some are funny, some are scary, some are varying combinations of all three. I don't think I'll ever look at a calendar the same way again.

Oh, and it's not over yet. They're looking for illustrations of the stories for an eventual digital showcase and print edition. Obviously, I won't be participating in that part, but there's no reason why you couldn't. At worst, you've lost a bit of time, and gained the experience of having read some really good stories.

I am toying with the idea of doing something with my own answers. Maybe just an entry regarding where they came from. I don't know. Some of it might be a bit more personal than I'm willing to get into in my old age. (I really do look back at some of my old entries on this blog and cringe.) Or maybe I'll turn them into stories. One of them, January, was about something I've considered in story terms for quite a while now.

But that's all for later. Right now, you should go download those stories. Then, get a cup of your favorite beverage, sit in your favorite chair, and do some reading. It's good for you.

2 comments:

Jeff said...

Mothertrucker, I don't have time to read!

Michael said...

Well, now you can download a listenable version: https://soundcloud.com/a-calendar-of-tales