|
Gaiman's quote above reminds me of the supposed Strauss quote about playing the piano: "You just hit the right keys at the right time and the thing plays itself."
Regarding the Knickerbocker rule and advice from Gaiman above, sure it's good advice, but so is "get out of bed each morning" or "eat your vegetables." It's a bit obvious and has nothing particular to do with the topic of writing. Sure it's important to be reminded that doing anything takes applied effort, but that could come from any successful person in any field.
If I were to attend a writing workshop with an author I admire, and I only got advice like "work hard" I'd ask for my money back.
I fully understand that an interview is not a workshop, authors are not our personal writing teachers, and they are not obligated to tell anything. And indeed, whatever they might have to say can give you interesting insight into the person, but when ever I hear that kind of "eat your veggies" advice when I was hoping to actually get some insight into the craft at the foot of a master, I'm disappointed.
|