Neil Gaiman — The Interview I've Waited 20 Years To Do

He described sitting in his garden gazebo with a strict constraint: he may either write or do nothing, but he may not do anything else (no reading, calls, crosswords, etc.). The boredom of doing nothing eventually makes writing the more interesting option, and it also helps manage distractibility (including family distractions).

He often drafts long work in fountain pen in notebooks, then treats typing it into the computer as the second draft and primary editing pass. He prefers this because leaving out weak material while typing feels like “saving work,” whereas deleting on a computer feels like losing work.

He uses at least two fountain pens with different ink colors so he can see at a glance how much he wrote in a day. He also likes fountain pens and inks because they make the act pleasurable while simultaneously helping him keep the work from feeling too “freighted” or psychologically heavy.

He said writing novels works best when he can repeat the same day over and over—his “Groundhog Day” approach—using consistent routines and locations to keep momentum. He also emphasized noticing when your working style changes over time (late-night to afternoon, possibly to morning later in life).

He explained that Coraline progressed through tiny nightly increments—writing a few lines before bed instead of reading—until it accumulated into real progress. A missing notebook on a cruise also pushed him to write more of Coraline, showing how constraints and circumstance can redirect productivity.