“The difference between real life and a story is that life has significance, while a story must have meaning.The former is not always apparent, while the latter always has to be, before the end.”

“I doubt I was much of a storyteller, but I would have put that smile in my book. On page 104, right next to the image of the Ward. I would have written it on my heart. I would have proofread it a thousand times under a thousand moons until a thousand tears thoroughly rationalized what it meant to me. Each time for when I’d met the darkness, and then succumbed. The smile read “you can’t break me’”—bold and in italics.”

“Death is the sanction of everything the story-teller can tell. He has borrowed his authority from death.”

“Follow your gut, Storyteller, it will lead to your happy ending.”

“If the storytellers told it true, all stories would end in death.”

“I don’t know whether it was Bukowski who said “Find what you love and let it kill you.” I have found what I love. I love telling stories. And I am letting it kil me!”

“I don’t know whether it was Bukowski who said “Find what you love and let it kill you.” I have found what I love. I love telling stories. And I am letting it kill me!”

“I tell the story to you now, but in each telling the story itself changes a little, changes direction, and that in turn changes you and me. So be very careful not only in how you repeat it but in how you remember it, goslings. More often than you realize it, the world is shaped by two things — stories told and the memories they leave behind.”

“All stories have a curious and even dangerous power. They are manifestations of truth — yours and mine. And truth is all at once the most wonderful yet terrifying thing in the world, which makes it nearly impossible to handle. It is such a great responsibility that it’s best not to tell a story at all unless you know you can do it right. You must be very careful, or without knowing it you can change the world.”

“Some stories remain incomplete but they are beautiful.”