Shaping stories, and being shaped by them in turn

“The store of fairy tales, that blue
chamber where stories lie waiting to be rediscovered, holds out the
promise of just those creative enchantments, not only for its own
characters caught in its own plotlines; it offers magical
metamorphoses to the one who opens the door, who passes on what was
found there, and to those who hear what the storyteller brings. The
faculty of wonder, like curiosity can make things happen; it is time
for wishful thinking to have its due.” - Marina Warner (from The Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers)

“Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won
and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and the dragons eat
their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsang souchong, someone
needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in
that. It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be
different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From
the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up
residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose.
That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do
because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift.
Your sister may be able to see the future, but you yourself can shape
it, boy. Do not forget that... there are many kinds of magic, after
all.”  - Erin Morgenstern (from The Night Circus)

“We who make stories know that we tell lies for a living. But they are
good lies that say true things, and we owe it to our readers to build
them as best we can. Because somewhere out there is someone who needs
that story. Someone who will grow up with a different landscape, who
without that story will be a different person. And who with that story
may have hope, or wisdom, or kindness, or comfort. And that is why we
write.” - Neil Gaiman (from The Graveyard Book)

“People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it's the other way around.”  - Terry Pratchett (from Witches Abroad)

Art above: "Cinderella" by Edmund Dulac (1882-1953), "Snow White" by Angela Barrett, "Round the Oak Tree" by Kelly Louise Judd, and "Thumbelina" by Lisbeth Zwerger.