Struggle between the Reader and Writer

            My identity as a writer has always escaped my hands before I could lay my finger on it.  Maybe I am confused about my identity as a writer because I consider my identity as a reader.  Let me explain why I consider myself a reader.  I have a passion for books.  I started reading at a young age and devoured all the books I read.  I read a lot of fantasy books and was absolutely enthralled at the creativity in these novels.  The authors were able to create characters and settings in such great detail out from the corner of their mind.  Reading these novels made me want to write exactly like those authors.  Reading was what made me want to become a writer, since I wanted to try and write just like those authors.  That is why reading is above writing in my mind and identity.           

            That was an early stage of my life, when I still associated the reader and the writer as the same person.  Everyone has a reader and a writer inside of them; I mean I am a reader and a writer.  I usually thought that since everyone has the ability to be a reader and writer, these two mental concepts were combined as one.  I now know that even though everyone has the capability to be a reader and writer, they have to be a reader and writer separately, not at the same time.  There is a separation between the reader and writer, which I did not realize before.  Maybe that is why every time I tried to write short stories, in imitation of the authors I red, I would not be able to finish them after I reread what I wrote.  After reading my creative fiction, I would mentally compare it to the novels I have read.  The comparisons were never good for the stories I wrote; my stories just never matched up to the creative genius of my favorite authors.

            Peter Elbow mentions the difference between the reader and the writer in his article “Being a Writer v. Being an Academic.”  The way Elbow describes the reader versus the writer makes it seem like a boxing match.  Elbow explains that the reader and writer struggle with each other to gain control over the text.  So you might be wondering why this struggle.  What does it mean?  The reader and writer try to control the text through the meaning in the text.  The writer is the person who places the meaning and voice into the text, which gives the author power over the text they just wrote.  What makes elbow upset is when the reader comes into the picture and has to take meaning out of the text.  This is where the reader has beaten down the writer in the boxing match and stripped all the power from the writer.  The reader has the ability to determine whether or not there is voice in the paper and they get to choose what meaning they take out from the paper, whether the author intended it or not.

            Even though I respect Elbow as an academic and writer, I think he goes a little far when saying the reader’s intention is to kill of the author.  I do see a power struggle between the reader and writer because there is always a struggle about the meaning of the text.  What I do not see is the extreme struggle of the reader trying to get rid of the writer’s meaning completely.  My own personal struggle as a reader is trying to figure out the meaning from an article - trust me, we’ve all had those experiences, when the author’s message just flies over our heads.  All I’m doing is trying to find the meaning in what I read.  If I can grasp the message the writer is trying to convey then I will be more than willing to accept that message.  Although, when I hit that struggle with finding that message, I have to grasp whatever meaning I can get from the text.  Even when I find my own meaning in the text, I still respect and understand what the writer’s intent was in writing the article.

            I believe that readers can take their own meanings from the text, but I do not like how Elbow says the reader takes the meaning from the text without respecting or giving thought to the writer’s voice and the writer’s intended meaning.  I am sure there are some readers that do not care about what the writer intended to say, but not all readers are like that.  Many readers respect writers and take what they are given from the writer.  These readers also respect writers when they can get a reaction from the reader about a character or the plot, whether it is a positive or negative reaction.  If the writer can make the readers feel something over the character or message, then they are a really writer good and readers should recognize this and respect them as a writer.  I have read many books where I have absolutely hated or loved the book depending on how I felt about the characters or plot.  If a writer is able to make me feel so much about one simple character, I would say they are a very good writer.

            Now looking upon this issue from my writer’s identity, I do understand how a writer could be upset if their meaning is taken into the wrong context.  I understand that feeling when writing a creative fiction story, and I get nervous as others read what I had written because I wonder if they are going to take the same meaning from it that I place in my paper.  Unfortunately, I need to face the facts that some people will view it differently from my point of view, but others will understand what I wrote.  All writers should realize this risk because all readers will get a different message from the paper.  No one thinks the same or pull out the same message from the paper, which depends on their mood and environmental setting.  It is something writers need to be ready for when they write a paper or publish an article or book.  As long as the readers get something from the text, then the writer has done their job.  They may not have passed on the message they were hoping readers to see, but I believe it is fine if the readers are able to take some meaning from the text and connect it with the article.  The whole point of writing a paper is to have the reader delve into the paper and come back out with a message from the writer and if the writer is able to accomplish this, then they are a good writer.

            Elbow further the separation between the reader and the writer by placing them into different categories.  The writers are placed in the “creative writing” and are known as “writers,” while the readers are placed in “academic writing” and are known as “academics.”  A writer is someone who loves to write in order to discover meaning, expel their emotions, or communicate through their writing.  I think anyone can be a writer as long as they can get their feelings, emotions, and ideas out of their head and onto paper.  An academic loves to read and get information from books and figure out the answer to tough questions.  Elbow explains he wants his students to be a balanced writer and academic, but that is hard for students to attain.

            Not many students can feel like writers and academics because it is very unattainable.  Where does that place you and me, as academics or writers?  I consider myself to be more of an academic, no matter how much I hate the sound of that.  I would like to think I am a writer because they are creative and have a passion for writing, and I do not think I have a love for getting information from books or answering tough problems.  I do not feel that kind of passion for writing, like I do for reading.  That is why I place myself in the academic group, because I love to read.  Reading is my passion and I have not transferred that passion over to writing yet.  I like to write, I just do not have a passion for it yet.  Being placed as an academic might be why I have a reading identity and struggle with my writer’s identity.  I believe most students would place themselves with the academics because it is what we know, what we were taught throughout school.

            Throughout school, I was taught how to be an “academic.”  We had to write our papers with strict format and were told not to use “I” in our paper.  Putting in “I” would make our papers personal, so we had to lean how to hide our voice.  I wanted to place my voice in my paper because it was my opinions, but I had to keep it hidden, like a subliminal message, since you could not see it but know it was there.  My teachers did not want us to show our voices or use our opinions because we are supposed to argue a point in our paper, and use other sources and academics to back up our argument.

            Although, David Bartholomae would object to this definition of academic writing, because he believes that academic papers should not discuss topics we already heard from.  Bartholomae wants new topics that have not been covered before by other academics.  That is nearly impossible because almost every topic has been covered before.  As academic writers, we use other academics to support our argument and disprove the arguments of others.  Academic writing, no matter what subject it is on, is prevalent throughout the schools and overrun the creative writing classes in school.  Look at all the literature classes there are to take and the few creative writing classes that are available.  The sudden change from academic writing into creative writing can be difficult for a lot of people.

            The change from academic to creative writing was difficult for me.  I do like creative writing, but after being taught and drilled to use academic writing, it can be hard to find my own voice, and my struggling identity as a writer.  That is why I have a hard time finding my identity as a writer because I have not been given the freedom to write how I please in papers.  I cannot write the way I want to write, but the way academic discourse tells me to write.  Being controlled by those restrictions makes it harder for me to write about limitless broad topics.  I like knowing what my topic is, and having to pick a topic from a broad category can be challenging for me and others as well.  I am usually more comfortable using academic discourse since it is what I have learned the longest and been influenced with the most.

            If possible, students should try to combine their creative, personal writing with academic discourse.  Students should find a way to express their voice in their academic papers because that will make their paper stronger.  This is a strong hurtle to overcome, but finding a way to place your opinion in a paper will make it a very interesting paper.  Academics are good at finding information to back up their argument, but writers are good at stating their opinions about the argument.  A good paper will show the writer’s argument and their opinions about the topic and research that can back up that argument.

            The separation between readers and writers is growing, especially since scholars like and including Elbow has placed them under two separate categories.  If it is possible, students should try to find their identity as a writer and reader because both are important.  I know they are in separate categories, but they depend on each other; you cannot have one without the other.

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