Similarities                                                                                          Differences

Chloe: ·         Said it’s no longer an option to be a writer ·         Does agree that everyone is an author	·         Was focused more on “writing/writers” rather than authors ·         Discussed the qualifications a person must have to be a writer ·         Talked about personal feelings about the topic
Corben: ·         Overall agreed that everyone is an author	·         More discussed the situation that leads people to become authors, the opportunity ·         Does not think that everyone is inherently an author ·         Think that the way to become an author is by sharing your ideas, or putting them out into the world.

                As of my first look there are more differences than similarities, but I think that these differences are probably less obvious to someone if they are not actively searching for them.

Corben, Chloe, Riley

Writer                                                                                                   Author

A subgroup of “authors”	An umbrella term that contains everybody, including writers.
A person who writes	A published writer
Anyone who writes something	People who are writing for an audience other than themselves
Communicates through writing	Anyone who communicates with other people
Communication on a smaller scale	Reaches out to larger groups of people

                         Types of writing                                              Why you enjoy or dislike it

Poetry	I enjoy it because it feels more personal and intimate than other forms of writing
Research papers	I dislike them because they tend to be detached and without a voice, which in context is appropriate, but not interesting for me to read
Directions for assignments	I dislike writing these because I always feel like I could be clearer, also makes me feel responsible for the people who use the directions.
Assignments	I am neutral about this. I don’t mind it because they are always guided and don’t allow for much creativity in answers, but they do also open channels of communication.
Texting	I like texting because most of the time it is because I am talking to my friends.

What we need for the party:

Party hats, cake, presents, decorations

Genre: E-mail

Hello Crowbar,

I’m so excited to see you at the party this afternoon, but I need to ask you for a couple of favors. First of all, I totally forgot to pick-up the cake from the store, if you go to the bakery, just give them my name, it’s already paid for so it should be pretty easy to pick up. After that, I need you to go to Walmart for me and get party hats and some decorations. We need about 10 hats and a couple things of streamers. If you can’t find them at Walmart, party city would probably have them. I also completely blanked out on a present! I know what I want to get, but I wasn’t able to pick it up yet. It’s a new coat from Banana Republic. It’s grey and purple, with a hood. It should be around $43.OO, so I’ll pay you back for the coat and everything else when I see you later. Thank you so much for being willing to do all of this, you’re a life saver!

Thanks again,

Riley

            
                My genre of an E-mail, allowed for more informal/familiar language that would be commonly used between friends. This was partially contrasted though, with the common format used for E-mails. So overall, I had less freedom with the presentation of my writing, but more freedom with my language and diction.

             
                Chloe had the genre of a shopping list, and it instead turned into a note instead of a shopping list, and was more informal and easy.

                Corben had the genre of texting, he loved it because of how current you can keep the information, and how easy it is to “edit” it. You can also ignore grammar and formal words when you are texting. 

Is everyone an author? Chapter one in the textbook took a very interesting point of view concerning this question. I almost felt like instead of completely and directly answering the question for us, it gave us the tools and examples to allow us to come up with an informed answer for ourselves. After reading the chapter and comparing it to my original thoughts, I would feel confident enough to say that yes, everyone is an author. Every part of our lives depends on communication, either verbal or non-verbal, to act as a bridge from person to person on a local or global scale. These bridges are what allow us as a species to continue on and create, innovate, and succeed. Even if the communication is spoken out loud, written down, or signed, it is still a work by an author. We need to think of rhetoric less as physical written words, and more as ideas or beliefs expressed by a person or peoples. If I was sharing my ideas to a group, I would be the author of those ideas. Every time a person or group express thoughts or conclusions that are unique to them, they become authors. Every spoken word, relayed thought, or even concern, is a new work. In casual conversation, as I tell my parents about my day, I inform them of authors I encountered. Saying "Oh, today in class I was talking to my friend mikaela, and she said ..." is a way of citing an author. Each idea and expression, is a literary work. They invite others to analyze their work rhetorically, leading to debates and connections, not unlike those created by the rhetorical analysis of writings. From the day we are born and start communicating, we are authors. The textbook touched on this, the different ways we use rhetoric to achieve goals, and even how thinking rhetorically can lead to success in all areas of life, from a simple discussion, to avoiding war. This process of determining how thinking rhetorically can change outcomes, is another way of stating that every thought is a deliberately penned piece, and each piece belongs to the person who created it. Even though it may be happening in our heads, or spoken into the world, it still adds to the authors portfolio of work. In my way of thinking, everything that we do as people, is a work by an author. If I choose to accept this as truth, I must also choose to accept that everyone indeed, is an author.

What is writing? As writing has appeared throughout history, the cultures and substance have always differed, but the context is consistent. A successful cultivation of crops, domestication of animals, as well as permanent structures, are all longstanding clues for historians and anthropologists to see if a group of people have moved past hunting and gathering to become a civilization. The most important though, is a clear development and respect for the arts. 

Writing especially has been a way to share ideas and discoveries for generations. These insights to the past allow us to learn from others mistakes, to discover parts of humanity that would otherwise be forgotten, and to immortalize those who chose to open themselves up and allow us to dissect their consciousness through their own words. Writing truly is a hallmark of civilization, but we should look deeper into what it is that makes writing so vital to the development of peoples. I think that communication, through writing or otherwise, is really what predicts the rise of civilization, and the continuing of culture. In American Sign Language, there is no written form, but a deep culture and rich historical background has still made itself a home within the d/Deaf and Hard-of-hearing people who choose to be a part of Deaf culture. Even without writing, communication and stories flourish within the community, spreading across other subcultures and down through generations. This continuation of history and personal narratives reminds me of the hugely popular stories shared by spoken word in ancient Greece, the myths and fantasies that stood for the people of Greece and allows us now, to know what they believed in. 

Now, students use writing for everything from essays to texting. Writing notes, talking to our friends, or even baring ourselves to the world through blogs are all examples of how writing has penetrated every part of our lives. It will serve future generations as a type of diary, each person cleanly laid out in spoken word, first person accounts and insights into the world’s cultures and conflicts. The writing will serve as a textbook that we have never had before in education, showing the fluency in cross-cultural interactions, and even the smallest nuances in language and vocabulary shifting from formal to relaxed as two friends leave class and start engaging with each other. Our novels, embedded into lines of code, and shared on the internet, will allow people to view the immense and infinite imagination and horrors that the human mind is capable of, serving as a reminder of the depth of thought and complexity each person has within themselves. We write to share, to inform, and to delve deeper into our own understanding of ourselves, each shifting tone, vocabulary, and structure, to garner a deeper level of understanding from our audience. Writing is communication, discovered through the human condition, and shared through every avenue of our personal experiences. 

(Thanks to Corben, Pat, and Chloe, for the discussion and inspiration )