Annik Spencer
April 27, 2011
WSC 2
Dr. Lay
What Is Happening to Writing?
The author Eric Maisel said in his book, A Writer's Space: Make Room to Dream, to Work, to Write, that “The writing life is defined by the succession of choices you make, primary among them whether or not you will write. You honor your writing space by entering it with this mantra: ‘I am ready to work.’ You enter, grow quiet, and vanish into your writing.” This quote describes what it is like for a writer to create. Inspiration and imagination is what did, and still does, compel humans to write down his or her thoughts. Writers have been vanishing into their own personal “writing spaces” to create writing for many years. Just like the ideas and thoughts of authors change, authors writing spaces change and develop as well. The way in which we create and write changes the way that we transcribe writing.
To appreciate writing it is important to understand why written work is essential. In Chapter 2, "Writing as Technology," in J. David Bolter’s book, Writing Space, he discusses the evolution of writing and writing surfaces in his section titled, "Hard and Soft Structures." Writing has always been a necessary and valuable way for people to remember events and stories. This is why symbols and language were created in the first place. Old texts were then translated, so modern audiences could comprehend and read them. These texts were often translated to "fit the times" and translators often changed, restructured and rewrote them. These are all considered hard structures because they are "tangible qualities of the materials of writing" (Bolter 41). Bolter explains soft structures as being how we present our text visually. The way we present our writing has evolved as well. Bolter says that we have introduced grammar, punctuations, paragraphing, and chapter divisions so that the modern reader can more easily read the text. The very first example of a soft structure was actually the alphabet because it was the first time the ancient people had put together a structured way of how to present ideas, or how to write.
This section, “Hard and Soft Structures” also discusses how text is restructured, changed, and sometimes even rewritten so that it will make sense to the modern reader. The first change is the actual writing space itself. Bolter discusses how in ancient times things were written on papyrus. And before the printing press was invented, scribes wrote down text by hand on paper. The final evolution is the technological evolution of writing spaces. Bolter says that is evolution is inevitable because the writing space must evolve with the times so that the reader may understand it.
Writing spaces have grown and changed over time. Chapter 5, “The Electronic Book” of Writing Space discusses the evolution of writing spaces, specifically how the papyrus evolved into the codex. Bolter says that the papyrus was the first form of the "book." Papyrus were usually about 25 feet, but there length was not predetermined. The author would simply write until he or she felt that their story was finished and then they would cut the papyrus. Papyruses were also rolled like a scroll, not bound. Stories were a large part of the culture at that time and papyrus rolls were the most effective way to transcribe the stories that were being told. Storytelling was the main form of entertainment and so papyruses were mainly scripts that storytellers would use.
Writing was not done in a sequential order, but at random. Other works could be added before, during, or after the papyrus was written. Writers wrote as much as they wanted on a papyrus because one’s space was not predetermined and the author could write with no stopping point. All of these elements of papyrus writing changed how the writer wrote because ideas were not continuous, writing was never stopped, and other works could be referenced or added.
The shift from papyrus to codexes not only was a change of physical writing space, but also a change in the way humans wrote. This is because people began to have an interest in writing down more complete thoughts and ideas. Also, society wanted to transcribe information and facts onto paper and this could be more easily done in a codex. Because the writing space changed the way the author thought, the way the author wrote ultimately changed as well. This is mainly because a codex was more complete and other works could not be referenced or added to it. Writing now had to be planned and organized before the writer began to write because the codex had pages bound together with a cover. The codex eventually evolved into today’s modern book.
Codexes replaced papyrus because they were more complete and bound together. They protected and limited writing and made written work a complete verbal structure. They were different from papyrus rolls because they had to fill predetermined space. Codexes also closed off other works because they were only one story long where papyrus rolls would sometimes include other works.
After papyruses and codexes, writing spaces finally developed and changed with electronic age with the introduction of WebPages and eBooks. WebPages remind the reader of the days of papyrus. This is because WebPages are not sequential and can be changed and added to. The use of hypertext on WebPages makes the website multi-dimensional and not chronological. Chapter 3 of Writing Space by Bolter, "Hypertext and the Remediation of Hypertext," defines hypertext, discusses the existence of hypertext, and the difference between hypertext and regular text. The chapter describes hypertext as being a link on a webpage that can create relationships between different things. Hypertext creates a network. It can take the reader on a path, from one idea to another. Also hypertext and WebPages are very different from today’s modern book. Books give the reader control, but not as much imagination. Hypertext can enhance the imagination and overall experience for the reader. The new invention of the eBook takes the modern book digital. Society had moved to the electronic age, and so the writing spaces have had to change to fit this new era.
Another comparison of how writing spaces can change the way the author creates is verbal text versus written text. Verbal text may seem like an unusual form of writing, but all speech can be written down as it is being said, so it can be considered writing. In fact, the contrast of spoken text and written text strongly demonstrates how writing spaces can change. The writing space of written text is obviously on wherever it is written, but the writing space of oral text is much more complex. The writing space for verbal text is the listener’s ear.
Chapter 6, “Refashioned Dialogues” of Writing Space talks about the differences between spoken and written text. The chapter discusses the variation in the thought processes of the written philosopher, Plato, and the oral philosopher, Socrates. Bolter says, “It may be harder to hoodwink a reader than a listener because the reader can stop at anytime, reflect, and refer to a previous section of the text” (Bolter 102). Plato was a written philosopher and he wrote all of his theories down, his readers could interpret or use his text any way they wished. This frustrated Plato because his teacher, Socrates, was an oral philosopher. Socrates could easily convince his audience because he could guide a path for his listeners to follow. His listeners would never argue or challenge Socrates’ oral teachings because they we were so easily convinced by his speeches. The reader can control how the information is interpreted when the text is written. “The question of control can be posed in the absence of writing…” (Bolter 101) and thus Plato had to understand that the reader might read his philosophies in the wrong way. Because the reader has the control, Plato and all other written speakers, must analyze what they are writing down. The difference of written and oral text shows how the change in writing space can change the way in which a person writes.
So why does the change of writing space change the way we think and vice versa? To analyze this one must know why writing is so important. Writing has always been the most effective way for humans to communicate and remember events, although the way society uses writing has changed over generations. It was first used as a way of remembering stories, facts and events. As humans became more advanced, their writing became much more developed as well. Society began to not only want to remember stories and events, but also to write down their thoughts, hopes and dreams. Philosophers like Plato and Socrates began to both write and speak about their philosophies. Spoken and written texts now became the newest forms of writing spaces, but these two forms were so different that they often challenged each other. Plato, the written philosopher, and Socrates, the oral philosopher, both differed in what they felt a writing space was. Writing was now used differently than it was when it was first developed.
These changes in writing forced writing spaces to change as well. Over time the writing space has changed and developed to fit the times. Because the way that we communicate, think, and write changes, our writing spaces must change as well. Papyrus rolls and scrolls served a different purpose than codexes and books. New forms of writing spaces were invented because they needed to most effectively record what people were writing at that time. The modern WebPages and eBooks are the newest forms of writing spaces. They make writing and information accessible to everyone, anywhere and at anytime.
The great American author Truman Capote once said, “A writing space is not a physical place, but a place inside your imagination.” Capote is referring to the writing space in one’s mind. This writing space is where one’s stories, philosophies, ideas and thoughts are created. After the author creates writing in his or her head, he or she must leave that writing space to enter another writing space, the physical writing space. The development of human’s means of communication affects the way in which human kind thinks. The way that human kind thinks affects the way humans write, and finally these developments influence the physical writing space. The way that society thinks and communicates changes the way that they write on their writing spaces.
Bibliography
Bolter, J. David. Writing Space: Computers, Hypertext, and the Remediation of Print. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001. Print.
Maisel, Eric. A Writer's Space: Make Room to Dream, to Work, to Write,. Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2008. Print.
Truman Capote. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. <http://www.capotebio.com/index.php>.
