How to deal with nosy neighbors

As a kid, I loved Maurice Sendak's books. It sounds like the man himself is a force to be reckoned with:

One of the neighbours complained about this "eyesore" farmhouse . . . And said he'd personally help remove it, if Maurice so desired, thinking he was being a big guy to help the old man get rid of the eyesore. And Maurice told him if he ever mentioned it again, he'd turn that stable into a whorehouse.

I'd recommend reading the rest of the Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers discussion about the making of Where the Wild Things Are. There's a lot about following your vision, rather than doing things the way everyone else thinks they should be done.