A writer is invisible! It is the persona that is created
that readers see. We are given a pre-created idea about what a writer is like,
a publisher or agent gives us personality traits and interesting facts which we
understand to be the writer. It is irrelevant what the writer is really like we
rely on the information that we receive to inform our decisions.
J.K Rowling was told she had to use her initials when
writing the famous Harry Potter, so she would not limit her audience to just
girls. She doesn't even have a middle name. Banksy is an anonymous writer with
one of the best most controversial reputations, and no one knows who he is.
He’s probable a very ordinary bloke but we are more interested in the illusive
man who hides behind a mask and comes out at night full of controversy.
Whether a writer should or shouldn't be invisible is
irrelevant because they already are, we hide behind the pages of our books like
nerdy girls with glasses and we show people what we want them to see. Whether
that is your own personal life story or only your eye colour, it’s a personal
choice how much your audience knows about you.
Arrange and compose, your audience is waiting….
You make a great point that even when we do see a writer, are we seeing the true person, or a created personality?
ReplyDeleteThat's true that your audience will only know what you reveal to them. Great post!
I like that you highlight the fact that even when the audience is given a glimpse of the writer they are shown a construed image. And that the visibility of the writer does not matter, only the quality of their work. Good post.
ReplyDeleteI like how you've pinpointed that the publisher is the one who gives personality traits for it cloak the writer's true self. An interesting post.
ReplyDeleteNailed it in the first paragraph - the idea that the author is a character created in part by the publisher is a very good one.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your point about the writer being invisible, I had never really thought about it before but your point that it is only the persona we see made me realise how true that is. We don't tend to think about this when writing, but when people read our work are they thinking that's the real us or do they see an invented personality? We can only wonder.
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