Neil Gaiman's Advice

 I went and saw Neil Gaiman last night.  He is touring for the tenth anniversary edition of American Gods.  He is an eloquent and amusing speaker and I enjoyed the evening very much.  During the Q & A someone asked the ubiquitous question “What advice would you give to you fantasy writers?”   I suppose that authors must prepare stock answers for this question, but I thought his advice was particularly good:

• You have to write.
• You have to finish what have written.
• Don’t read fantasy – except to stay on top of the genre – instead read everything else.
• Read primary sources.
• Read outside of your comfort level.
• Tell the stories only you can tell.
• The quicker you come to writing those stories the better.