Meeting Neil Gaiman

After watching Stardust' premier in HBO today, I can't help but write about my encounter with the master story teller himself, Neil Gaiman.

It was November 21 at the 2007 Ad Congress in Subic. There he was, standing as the main speaker of the event, awe-inspiring attendees at his many successes and most of all, flaming everyone's imagination from small to big, wildfires.

I so well remembered him saying about the pursuit of one's craft and imagination, "Move to where your mountain is, and conquer it."

With a Stardust book in my hands, I told myself that this is now or ever, I either get his signature or nothing. Then his speech was over, and like a spy in movies, I followed his direction of exit, quietly sneaking through the crowd and intercepting him backstage.

Just before the guards halted me, I already had Mr. Gaiman signing the book. He smiled when I asked him to sign it, asked me what's my name, and said "thank you" for reading his book.

What struck me is his humble, unassuming demeanor, kind and self-effacing. I now knew why this New York Times best seller, highly paid Hollywood novelist and scriptwriter is successful in his field - he shares his art and imagination to young and adults alike and does not set himself apart from his audience.

He even extends himself by supporting the artistic culture of the places he visits. Some two years ago, he launched a folklore based, novel-writing contest for young Filipino writers and novelist and another contest was ran last year with Fully Booked.

Meeting Neil Gaiman was like having a "mentor" tell you not to grow up in imagination. Imagine like a child, believe like a child, and dream like a child - then use your "grown-up" abilities to conquer!

Too bad I wasn't able to take a picture!