Terri Windling Quotes

Powerful Terri Windling for Daily Growth

About Terri Windling

Terri Windling (born October 19, 1954) is an American fantasy writer, editor, and artist who has significantly influenced the modern fantasy genre. Known for her richly imagined worlds, intricate narratives, and deep exploration of folklore, she has left a lasting impact on both readers and fellow authors. Born in Washington D.C., Windling spent much of her childhood moving around due to her father's Air Force career. This nomadic lifestyle provided her with a unique perspective and a love for diverse mythologies that would later become central themes in her work. She pursued her passion for the arts, earning a BFA from Ohio University before working as an illustrator. Windling's professional journey took an unexpected turn when she co-founded the groundbreaking fantasy magazine "Sleeper & Wake" with artist and husband John Grant in 1983. This publication introduced many now-famous authors to a wider audience, including Charles de Lint, Jane Yolen, and Ellen Kushner. In 1986, she co-edited "Legends", an anthology series that showcased her unique vision of mythic fantasy. The success of this project led to further collaborations, including the "Fantasy Worlds" and "Borderland" series, which brought together some of the most talented fantasy writers of their time. Windling's original fiction includes novels such as "The Wood Wife" (1981), "Brightstone County" (1997), and the "Temerranta" series (2006-2014). Her works are characterized by their lush, vivid settings and profound exploration of human emotions set against the backdrop of myth and folklore. Through her writing, editing, and art, Terri Windling has made an indelible mark on the fantasy genre, inspiring generations of readers and writers with her unique vision and deep appreciation for the power of storytelling.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The true magic of life is in the stories we create."

This quote emphasizes that our personal experiences and interactions, as well as our collective histories, become the raw material for creating meaningful narratives - the "stories" that give shape and meaning to our lives. By weaving these threads of lived experience into stories, whether through art, literature, oral tradition, or even everyday conversations, we are able to find deeper connections with each other and the world around us. In essence, Terri Windling suggests that storytelling is not just a creative endeavor, but a vital means for understanding and navigating the complexities of life.


"We shape our worlds through our beliefs and imaginations."

This quote by Terri Windling suggests that the realities we inhabit, whether physical or metaphorical, are significantly shaped by our beliefs and imagination. Our deeply-held convictions and creative thinking have a profound impact on the environments and experiences we create for ourselves and others. Essentially, this implies that the power to construct our world lies not only in what we can physically build but also in the intangible realms of thought and perception.


"The imagination is a powerful thing - it can bring us nightmares or dreams; it can build castles or break them down with a thought, or open doors that were never meant to be found."

This quote emphasizes the immense power of human imagination. It implies that our imagination can create both positive (dreams, building castles) and negative experiences (nightmares, destroying castles), and it has the ability to perceive what isn't necessarily there (opening doors that were never meant to be found). Essentially, it highlights the transformative role of human imagination in shaping our thoughts, actions, and ultimately, our lives.


"Art is the language of the soul, expressing the inexpressible."

This quote highlights that art serves as a unique medium for individuals to convey emotions, ideas, or experiences that are often difficult or impossible to put into words. It suggests that artistic expression taps into one's innermost feelings and thoughts, allowing them to be shared with others in a profound, intimate way. In essence, through art, the soul communicates its deepest and most intangible aspects, making the inexpressible expressible.


"Stories are quiet revolutions."

Terri Windling's quote, "Stories are quiet revolutions," suggests that stories have a profound impact on society, subtly shaping perspectives, attitudes, and behaviors without resorting to explicit force or upheaval. By weaving narratives that explore different worlds, experiences, and possibilities, stories can stimulate imagination, challenge the status quo, and inspire change in individuals and communities. In this way, stories serve as vehicles for transformation and progress, quietly inciting revolutions of thought and action that can lead to lasting societal changes.


When I was younger, I was in love with everything about the British Isles, from British folklore to Celtic music. That was always where my passions were as a young girl, and so I studied folklore as a college student in England and Ireland.

- Terri Windling

Love, College, Young Girl, Ireland

Robert Jordan, whether he's writing with passion or not, I don't know.

- Terri Windling

Writing, Robert, Whether, Jordan

In more recent years, I've become more and more fascinated with the indigenous folklore of this land, Native American folklore, and also Hispanic folklore now that I live in the Southwest.

- Terri Windling

American, More, Southwest, Hispanic

When I started in the business, there was a thing called adult fantasy, but nobody quite knew what it was, and most publishers didn't have an adult fantasy list. They had science fiction lists, which they stuck a little bit of fantasy into.

- Terri Windling

Fiction, Had, Bit, Science Fiction

I'm also looking for gems that the average reader might have missed.

- Terri Windling

Average, Might, Reader, Gems

Since fantasy isn't about technology, the accelleration has no impact at all. But it's changed the lives of fantasy writers and editors. I get to live in England and work for a New York publisher!

- Terri Windling

New, England, Fantasy, Publisher

I'd had no particular interest in the Southwest at all as a young girl, and I was completely surprised that the desert stole my heart to the extent it did.

- Terri Windling

Young, Southwest, Extent, Stole

There's that old adage about how there's only seven plots in the world and Shakespeare's done them all before.

- Terri Windling

Old, Before, About, Plots

I like Celtic folk music, Native American music, and any kind of early music. There isn't a lot of music that I don't like... except for Show Tunes.

- Terri Windling

Kind, Like, Tunes, Celtic

I'd like to encourage people to please keep reading-and most importantly, to please keep trying new writers. The only way we can bring fresh new material into the field is if people go out and buy it.

- Terri Windling

New, Like, Importantly, New Material

There are plenty of bad editors who try to impose their own vision on a book.

- Terri Windling

Vision, Bad, Impose, Editors

What I find interesting about folklore is the dialogue it gives us with storytellers from centuries past.

- Terri Windling

Find, Centuries, Folklore, Storytellers

Read the folklore masters. Go to galleries. Walk in the woods. That's what you need to be an artist or storyteller.

- Terri Windling

Artist, Need, Read, Folklore

One of the best things about folklore and fairy tales is that the best fantasy is what you find right around the corner, in this world. That's where the old stuff came from.

- Terri Windling

Fantasy, Old, About, Folklore

I'm working on a very long series of paintings based on desert folklore.

- Terri Windling

Very, Based, Series, Folklore

There have been a number of us working very, very hard to bring myth and fairy tales into public consciousness, through fantasy literature and other media. I hope we're succeeding in some small way.

- Terri Windling

Small, Through, Very, Tales

We've always lived in dark times. There has always been a range of human experience from the sublime to the brutal, and stories reflect it. It's no less brutal now; each age has its horrors.

- Terri Windling

Always, Been, Brutal, Sublime

Magic Realism is not new. The label's new, the specific Latin American form of it is new, its modern popularity is new, but it's been around as long as literature has been around.

- Terri Windling

Magic, New, Been, Latin

The first job I was offered was as an editorial assistant. I think it was the best thing for me, in terms of being a storyteller by nature, to have spent years being an editor because I learned so much from it.

- Terri Windling

Think, Editor, Editorial, First Job

I have a great respect for the academics who are working with the source material. My hat's off to them.

- Terri Windling

Source, Academics, Them, Great Respect

I was a great fan of Jim Henson.

- Terri Windling

Great, Fan, Jim

I divide my time between homes in Arizona and England, six months a year in each place.

- Terri Windling

England, Six, Months, Homes

I wanted to be a scientist. But I had no math skills.

- Terri Windling

Skills, Scientist, Wanted, Math

My book collection is primarily in America, since that's where I've lived most of my life.

- Terri Windling

Book, My Life, Collection, Primarily

Filmmaking can be a fine art.

- Terri Windling

Art, Movies, Fine, Fine Art

I've only been living in England for the last 10 years, if you don't count my student years.

- Terri Windling

Living, England, Been, Count

But for me, really, the written word is always stronger than film.

- Terri Windling

Stronger, Always, Than, Written Word

I'm an artist, I'm not an academic folklorist.

- Terri Windling

Artist, Academic

A good novel editor is invisible.

- Terri Windling

Good, Invisible, Novel, Editor

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