Neil Gaiman Invites Fans To Make A Calendar With Him

Neil Gaiman, the author of critically acclaimed comic books such as The Sandman and Stardust, has decided to give his fans a chance to join in on his writing process, and he’s using a web series to help move things along. Gaiman and BlackBerry have collaborated on Keep Moving, a project where Gaiman will write stories based on user suggestions, which fan artists will then turn into a full calendar.

Gaiman has pitched the idea in a recently released video on the BlackBerry YouTube channel. He has envisioned a collaborative effort that works as a volley between him and his devoted readers. He has sorted through ideas from every month of the year to find twelve tweets that he can turn into full stories for the calendar. Once he finishes the stories, it will be up to his artistically-inclined fans to illustrate each one. “I’ve been trying to figure out for years a way to collaborate with readers,” says Gaiman in the video. “I love the idea of getting some kind of feedback and then I love the idea of taking what I made and giving it back to people, almost like some sort of ping-pong match.”

The interactive element of Keep Moving is very cool, and it’s fun to sort through all the suggestions, looking at all of the small fabula that could become full-blown tales. In the hands of a capable storyteller like Gaiman, the final product will surely be beautifully told.