Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Neil Gaiman

Quote by Neil Gaiman

“If you make art, people will talk about it. Some of the things they say will be nice, some won’t. You’ll already have made that art, and when they’re talking about the last thing you did, you should already be making the next thing. If bad reviews (of whatever kind) upset you, just don’t read them. It’s not like you’ve signed an agreement with the person buying the book to exchange your book for their opinion. Do whatever you have to do to keep making art. I know people who love bad reviews, because it means they’ve made something happen and made people talk; I know people who have never read any of their reviews. It’s their call. You get on with making art.”

Quote by Neil Gaiman

Create image

Author

Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman, born on November 10, 1960, is a renowned British author. His works span across various genres including fantasy, horror, and science fiction, with notable titles such as 'American Gods' and 'Good Omens'. Gaiman's writing style is distinctive and has won him a dedicated fan base. more

You May Also Like

“People have been carping in this way for many centuries. Socrates feared that the act of writing would “create forgetfulness in the learners’ souls.” The sixteenth-century scientist Conrad Gessner worried that the printing press would facilitate an “always on” environment. In the eighteenth century, men complained that newspapers would be intellectually and morally isolating, and that the rise of the novel would make it difficult for people—specifically women—to differentiate between fiction and fact. We worried that radio would drive children to distraction, and later that TV would erode the careful attention required by radio. In 1985, Neil Postman observed that the American desire for constant entertainment had become toxic, that television had ushered in a “vast descent into triviality.”

Attention Span
Book:Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion
Create image

“The resource of generational history is accorded little attention our society, which seems ever more obsessed with making “new” and “better” synonymous. From my family I became aware of the importance of passing along wisdom from one generation to the next. Yet despite the increasing proliferation of digital recording and other communication technologies, we’re passing on less knowledge today than our parents did through the oral tradition alone. We’re drowning in photographs and videos, capturing every mundane moment of our birthdays, holidays, and vacations. Yet these can be no more than pleasant distraction, only scratching the surface of our real relationships.”

WisdomTechnologyModernityAttention Span
Book:The Seventeen Traditions
Create image

“We have more choice than ever before, but no matter what we choose, we have lost the ability to really pay attention to it.”

AttentionChoiceDistractionModernityAttention Span
Book:Homo Deus A Brief History of Tomorrow By Yuval Noah Harari & How We Got to Now Six Innovations that Made the Modern World By Steven Johnson 2 Books Collection Set
Create image

“I recently made my directorial debut in the category of duck documentary—in GIF format. I hope viewers don’t think my cinematic masterpiece goes on too long, because the extended version comes in at just over six seconds—which might be pushing the limits of modern attention spans.”

AbsurdDucksSurrealDuckDuck QuoteDuck QuotesAttention SpanDocumentaryGif
Book:Music is fluid, and my saxophone overflows when my ducks slosh in the sounds I make in elevators.
Create image

“I was for the first time in my life living within the limits of my attention's resources. I was observing as much information as I could actually process, think about and contemplate. The fire hose of information was turned off. Instead, I was sipping water at the pace I chose.”

Attention SpanNosurf
Book:Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention— and How to Think Deeply Again
Create image