Writing with an attitude

Author comes from authority. The boss, in command. My way or the highway.

What communicates authority, or the lack thereof, is rhetorical style. Language, tone, point of view. "Call me Ishmael." No ifs or buts about it. "...all that David Copperfield kind of crap." No ifs or buts about it. Take charge. Don't kiss the reader's ass.

This is writing inside-out, writing as art. Not all writing comes from this source. Not even most. Most writing we read is writing outside-in, writing in the world of commerce, meeting the expectations of genre, reader, commercial context. Kissing the publisher's ass.

The best writing doesn't kiss anyone's ass. It's propelled by authority from an author, in command, arrogant, my way or the highway. Surely the most extreme example of this is Joyce's Finnegans Wake. My way or the highway.

This is the precise challenge of the new work. Finding the right tone, in authority, arrogant, you come with me my way or screw you, who the fuck needs you, you're just a reader. But if you dare, if you dare come along, well, you are in for one hell of a ride.

The Performing Self, one writer called a study of contemporary writers back in the sixties. He was right on. Writing as performance. Writing as self.

This is going to be fun.