--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing imaginative tales for the young…" description: "\"Writing imaginative tales for the young is like sending coals to Newcastle. For coals.\" — Neil Gaiman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/neil-gaiman-29_coal_writing-imaginative-tales-for-the-young_3186146.jpg" --- # Writing imaginative tales for the young is like sending… ![“Writing imaginative tales for the young is like sending coals to Newcastle. For coals.” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/neil-gaiman-29_coal_writing-imaginative-tales-for-the-young_3186146.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/neil-gaiman-29_coal_writing-imaginative-tales-for-the-young_3186146.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/neil-gaiman-29_coal_writing-imaginative-tales-for-the-young_3186146.jpg) > “Writing imaginative tales for the young is like sending coals to Newcastle. For coals.” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creating works for children is redundant when the audience already has abundant material. **In simple terms:** Writing for kids can be pointless. Key Takeaway Consider the audience's needs. Themes creativity audience redundancy Mood thoughtful critical Type literary analytical When to use this quote - publishing children's books - educational content - marketing strategies Key Concepts literary criticism cultural saturation Questions to Reflect On - Is there value in revisiting familiar themes for children? - How can new ideas break through saturation? A Different Perspective Children may still benefit from fresh perspectives despite saturation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Imaginative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginative/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tales/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [No more coals to Newcastle, no more Hoares to Paris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-v/no-more-coals-to-newcastle-no-more-hoares-to-paris/) [George V](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-v/) > [I can't stop people from writing imaginative stories about me entering politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay/i-can-t-stop-people-from-writing-imaginative-stories-about-me/) [Vijay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay/) > [If you find yourself caring about old stories and regret the ways in which they slip out of reach of young audiences, you may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-rosen/if-you-find-yourself-caring-about-old-stories-and-regret-the-ways-in/) [Michael Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-rosen/) > [“Today, fantasy is, for better or for worse, just another genre, a place in a bookshop to find books that, too often, remind one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/today-fantasy-is-for-better-or-for-worse-just-another-genre-a-place/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [When I first signed for Newcastle, I was still a boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-mitrovic/when-i-first-signed-for-newcastle-i-was-still-a-boy/) [Aleksandar Mitrovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-mitrovic/) > [I tell my kids in the Academy at Newcastle to watch Henry. He plays with such a swagger, not an arrogance, and that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-beardsley/i-tell-my-kids-in-the-academy-at-newcastle-to-watch-henry-he-plays/) Peter Beardsley > [Not long time ago there was a striking example of the extent to which English has diverged: a television company put out a programme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-trask/not-long-time-ago-there-was-a-striking-example-of-the-extent-to-which/) [Larry Trask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-trask/) > [I have an older brother and an older sister - and they had the time of their lives at university. They were at Newcastle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-leslie/i-have-an-older-brother-and-an-older-sister-and-they-had-the-time-of/) [Rose Leslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-leslie/) > [I love Newcastle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-barton/i-love-newcastle/) [Joey Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-barton/) > [If I have to move on from Newcastle, hopefully it will be to somewhere else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-kinnear/if-i-have-to-move-on-from-newcastle-hopefully-it-will-be-to-somewhere/) [Joe Kinnear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-kinnear/) > [I will always be a Newcastle United fan all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-mitrovic/i-will-always-be-a-newcastle-united-fan-all-my-life/) [Aleksandar Mitrovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-mitrovic/) > [There will be internal discipline, but I can envisage both of them playing for Newcastle again. They're top-class players and they don't come along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graeme-souness/there-will-be-internal-discipline-but-i-can-envisage-both-of-them/) [Graeme Souness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graeme-souness/) > [At Newcastle, I was playing in the No 10 position but also in midfield as a left winger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georginio-wijnaldum/at-newcastle-i-was-playing-in-the-no-10-position-but-also-in-midfield/) [Georginio Wijnaldum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georginio-wijnaldum/) > [Before I signed for Liverpool, I was playing for Newcastle as a No. 10 - basically, I was always attacking. I didn't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georginio-wijnaldum/before-i-signed-for-liverpool-i-was-playing-for-newcastle-as-a-no-10/) [Georginio Wijnaldum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georginio-wijnaldum/) > [I am used to just playing football with my mates at Newcastle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-longstaff/i-am-used-to-just-playing-football-with-my-mates-at-newcastle/) [Sean Longstaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-longstaff/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Like all sentient beings, Fat Charlie had a weirdness quotient. For some days the needle had been over in the red, occasionally banging jerkily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/like-all-sentient-beings-fat-charlie-had-a-weirdness-quotient-for/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Shadow crawled across the floor to the yellow foam-rubber pad and climbed onto it, pulling the thin blanket over himself, and closed his eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/shadow-crawled-across-the-floor-to-the-yellow-foam-rubber-pad-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [ “\[T\]hey could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/t-hey-could-not-help-being-amused-every-time-another-little-human/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [So many things to see, people to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/so-many-things-to-see-people-to-do/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You can tell the date of an old science fiction novel by every word on the page. Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More Coal quotes > [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/) [Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The only difference between black coal and a precious diamond is the amount of pressure it endured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/the-only-difference-between-black-coal-and-a-precious-diamond-is-the/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [In that sense, I became politicized because the people in the coal mining villages who were involved in the struggle knew why they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bragg/in-that-sense-i-became-politicized-because-the-people-in-the-coal/) [Billy Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bragg/) > [Dusty, dark, cold, and hard, coal has no beauty of its own, but when it is consummated by fire it is beautiful and becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederica-mathewes-green/dusty-dark-cold-and-hard-coal-has-no-beauty-of-its-own-but-when-it-is/) [Frederica Mathewes-Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederica-mathewes-green/) > [a TEN-YEAR-OLD lad in Indianapolis who was arrested for picking up coal along the side of railroad tracks is now in jail. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-jones/a-ten-year-old-lad-in-indianapolis-who-was-arrested-for-picking-up/) Mother Jones > [Coal is the moral choice, particularly for the developing world... The model for the world right now should be Australia. Australia gets it. Scientifically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-morano/coal-is-the-moral-choice-particularly-for-the-developing-world-the/) Marc Morano > [Iron and coal dominated everywhere, from grey to black: the black boots, the black stove-pipe hat, the black coach or carriage, the black iron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/iron-and-coal-dominated-everywhere-from-grey-to-black-the-black-boots/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [I remember being very influenced by 'Taxi Driver', and also Tommy Lee Jones in 'Coal Miner's Daughter' a little bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-rockwell/i-remember-being-very-influenced-by-taxi-driver-and-also-tommy-lee/) [Sam Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-rockwell/) > [I have visited sweatshops, factories, and crowded slums. If I could not see it, I could smell it. The foundation of society is laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-have-visited-sweatshops-factories-and-crowded-slums-if-i-could-not/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Shakespeare doesn't belong to the past. If his material is valid, it is valid now. It's like coal. The only meaningfulness of a piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-brook/shakespeare-doesn-t-belong-to-the-past-if-his-material-is-valid-it-is/) [Peter Brook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-brook/) > [Coal is My Worst Nightmare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/coal-is-my-worst-nightmare/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [America is the Saudi Arabia of coal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/america-is-the-saudi-arabia-of-coal/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [“...those others - they're looking for trends - subjects to catch a spark - but I have you - a coal from God's altar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/those-others-they-re-looking-for-trends-subjects-to-catch-a-spark-but/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [We're not going to be living in a world of abundant coal power in a hundred years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/we-re-not-going-to-be-living-in-a-world-of-abundant-coal-power-in-a/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) Browse all 720 Coal quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing imaginative tales for the young is like sending coals to Newcastle. 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