TRANSFORMING FROM A CRITICAL READER TO A CREATIVE WRITER: AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY

Abstract

In this autoethnographic study of my struggle and transformative journey from a critical reader to a creative writer, I reflect on my experience writing Beyond Her Eyes: An Adventure in the Netherworld. I wrote and published the novel in 2015. This dissertation emerged from the data I generated by writing and rewriting my anecdotes and stories. I used Mezirow’s theory of transformative learning to interpret and discuss the generated anecdotes and narratives of my struggle as a critical reader and writer. My narratives' reflections, interpretations and discussions revealed that writing fantasy fiction and a dissertation was utterly different. My writing of the fantasy story was a self-satisfying act. I wrote to relax and for catharsis; I had no timeline to complete. On the one hand, completing the dissertation was different. It was not as exciting and enthralling as publishing a novel because I understood its meaning as an obligation. Another revelation was that I unconsciously wrote my fantasy fiction as a child and engaged in emotive writing to appeal to my audience. However, I was critically aware of my engagement in writing a dissertation project to satisfy the research committee members and scholars. Through this project, I learned to combine the language of emotion and reason in writing an academic document. To make this happen, I took refuge in the practice of auto-ethnography in writing my dissertation. Auto-ethnography allowed me the liberty of some semblance of personability in my writing. It allowed me to use my preferred evocative writing still. I found this apt for my project. Reading Mezirow in-depth and understanding the theory of transformative learning enabled me to use the writing technique through reflection. In this dissertation, I argue that a writer is a critical reader. Only a critical reader emerges to become a creative writer, but that does not mean all critical readers become creative writers. I also realized that writing manuals do not make creative writers; one should read the genre of one’s interest. Reading manuals on creative writing is reading about creative writers, not reading about creative works. Besides my realisation and transformation, one of the most important contributions of this project is to show that critical scholars with a tinge of creativity can combine the language of creative innovation with the language of academic writing.