Lagniappe: Words in Mouths

Did you know that writing stories down kills them?

Of course it does. Words weren't meant to be stiff unchanging things. ... Many, many generations ago, before pictorals and numeratics and hieratics, words were kept where they belong, in mouths.

N.K. Jemisin, Killing Moon

Interesting idea, isn't it? It's from a fascinating book which I'm only partway through.