“To be eccentric,” says Miss Webster, dead for fifteen years, in the back of my head, her voice dry, her elocution perfect, “you must first know your circle.” Know the rules before you break them. Learn how to draw, then break the rules of drawing. Learn to craft a story and then show people things they’ve seen before in ways they’ve never seen.

Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist

Foreword (1993) to Harlan Ellison, The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World (1969)
    (Source)