"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"
About this Quote
Windling’s line is a quiet flex disguised as gratitude: the origin story of an artist who didn’t arrive through sudden inspiration, but through the slow apprenticeship of other people’s sentences. In a culture that loves the myth of the born storyteller, she frames craft as something earned in the margins - editorial work not as detour, but as training ground.
The intent is almost corrective. By calling editorial assistant work “the best thing,” she elevates a role usually treated as invisible labor, especially in publishing, where assistants are expected to absorb chaos with a smile. The subtext: creativity isn’t only about generating ideas; it’s about developing judgment. Editing teaches you to hear where a narrative lies, to spot the cheap shortcut, to recognize when emotion hasn’t been earned. You learn to see structure the way musicians learn scales - repetitive, technical, unglamorous, foundational.
There’s also a subtle claim about power. Editors are the hidden architects of cultural taste, shaping what gets legible and what gets published. Windling suggests that spending “years being an editor” gave her access to storytelling at industrial scale: many drafts, many voices, many failures. That’s a different education than the solitary artist myth allows.
Context matters: Windling’s career sits at the intersection of myth, fantasy, and literary craft, fields that can be dismissed as whimsy until you notice how exacting they are. Her quote argues that the most imaginative work often comes from the most disciplined backstage labor.
The intent is almost corrective. By calling editorial assistant work “the best thing,” she elevates a role usually treated as invisible labor, especially in publishing, where assistants are expected to absorb chaos with a smile. The subtext: creativity isn’t only about generating ideas; it’s about developing judgment. Editing teaches you to hear where a narrative lies, to spot the cheap shortcut, to recognize when emotion hasn’t been earned. You learn to see structure the way musicians learn scales - repetitive, technical, unglamorous, foundational.
There’s also a subtle claim about power. Editors are the hidden architects of cultural taste, shaping what gets legible and what gets published. Windling suggests that spending “years being an editor” gave her access to storytelling at industrial scale: many drafts, many voices, many failures. That’s a different education than the solitary artist myth allows.
Context matters: Windling’s career sits at the intersection of myth, fantasy, and literary craft, fields that can be dismissed as whimsy until you notice how exacting they are. Her quote argues that the most imaginative work often comes from the most disciplined backstage labor.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
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