Writers on Writers
When there is a writer in a story, is that character always a reflection of the writer himself? Can we help writing ourselves into writers that we write about?
posted by meredith at 3:17 PM
Thursday, March 16, 2006
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- Name: meredith
- Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
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3 Comments:
Aren't all characters that authors create somewhat based on themselves? I think so. Whom else do we truly know?
Well said, Itty. I think writers always have to interject a little of themselves into a character or we wouldn't be able to understand why any of our characters do the things they do.
This posting reminded me of something Julian Barnes wrote in Chapter 1 of "Flaubert´s Parrot": "Why does the writing make us chase the writer? Why can't we leave well alone? Why aren't the books enough?" In the case of writers writing about writers, I think this is not only a self-fashioning or self-examination exercise, but also a strong need to understand the writer´s life and work and the role it plays in modern times. It is an ocassion to write about the Art of Writing, and in that sense much of the author´s perspective slip through his own dissection.
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