In a previous blog, Pyramid of Needs, we considered Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of why we do as we
do in our lives. According to Maslow, these are our priorities: (1) Survival,
(2) Security, (3) Power, (4) Love, (5) Communication, (6) Self-Esteem, (7)
Self-fulfillment. If our first
priorities are not satisfied, even minimally, then we can’t get to the higher
levels of self-esteem and self-fulfillment.
Where we are on the pyramid shows up right away when we are challenged,
as for example when we read or write for a class.
In my textbook, The Flexible Writer, I discuss three main purposes for writing, which I
adapted from James Britton’s insights in “Notes on a Working Hypothesis about
Writing”: Self-expressive, Interpersonal, Aesthetic. A given piece of writing may serve some or
all of these. Practicing writers know
how to gauge what is appropriate and don’t, for example, write a mostly
self-expressive piece when an interpersonal one might be more effective.
Self-expressive
Self-expressive writing
satisfies the need for asserting our survival and security needs. It satisfies the need to be heard and
recognized as an individual, despite social pressures. Through it, we might vent our anger,
complain, grieve; exalt, dream, wonder.
This purpose is often fulfilled by the very act of writing, itself, whether
or not someone else reads what we’ve written.
Self-expressive writing often takes the form of first-draft diary
entries, letters, autobiographies, lyric poems, songs—rants on Facebook, dashed
off Tweets and GIFs. Here is a self-expressive draft written by student Samantha
Renner:
I am terrified of the idea
of war. All I can think of are those
films of houses gutted by bombs, children lying half-naked and dead in the
streets, and blood everywhere. Sometimes
at night, I wake up to the sirens from the fire station down the block, and I
panic: What if they are not signaling for a fire? What if, somehow, there are
planes coming to bomb our town? This
must be just a little of what people must feel who are actually in a war zone. It’s terrible.
In this paragraph, Samantha expresses her feelings
about war. The self-expressive purpose
is fulfilled by the very act of writing. Samantha doesn’t anticipate a reader,
and no one has to have read what she has written or respond to it.
If
you find yourself resenting, defending against, or arguing with others when
they respond to your writing, it may be because your intention was only self-expressive. Know when to show your writing to others. Read the blog post Writer's Wrodeo: Whoas and Wonders to help you to discern where you are with a particular piece of writing.
Interpersonal
Interpersonal
writing satisfies not only the needs for survival and security, but also those
of power, love, and communication.
Through interpersonal writing, we connect, break, or negotiate with a
reader, an audience (a word that literally means “those who listen”). Our anticipated audience may be as far away
as a reader in another country or century, whom we may never meet; or as close
as ourselves. Our anticipated audience
may be as specific as an instructor or as general as a U.S. citizen. Our task is to determine our primary audience
and how to reach it.
In
interpersonal writing, we try to convince someone else to recognize us, to do
something for or with us, to agree with us, or to change her or his ways. It may take the form of letters, proposals, editorials,
business and legal memos, recipes, instructions—or chat threads. Submissions to teachers are meant to embody
what you have learned and to earn a grade. (We will consider specific
educational purposes for writing in an upcoming post.)
The
following is an excerpt from an essay Samantha wrote with a predominantly interpersonal
purpose: to persuade her audience of her position.
Before our country declares
war on another country, I believe several things should take place:
(1) There should be an open debate on
media between those who are for and those who are against the war. Debaters should include the parents of draftable
people, military personnel, lawmakers, conscientious objectors, and ambassadors
from those on whom we might declare the war.
(2) There should be films of war played on
television, the internet, and social media showing the ravages of war,
especially on non-military persons.
(3) There should be a vote taken from the
general population.
(4) There should be an active campaign to
ensure that at least 50% of the population votes.
Samantha’s
interpersonal writing invites debate, action, and results. She uses rhetorical devices (persuasion
techniques) such as bulleted points and clear appeals to emotions (as in her evocation
of war images). In a workshop, fellow
writers can help her anticipate how others might disagree with her, so that she
can head readers off before they can.
Aesthetic
At
its best, aesthetic writing satisfies the highest levels of needs that Maslow
identifies: self-esteem and self-fulfillment.
It assumes that self-expressive and interpersonal needs have been met
and attention can be turned toward writing for the sake of elegance, compression,
beauty, overall memorability. If only
aesthetics are managed in a particular piece of writing, then it can be superficially
entertaining, but it will lack depth. When, for example, your instructor
insists on grammatical correctness, but ignores the self-expressive and
interpersonal aspects of writing, writing might be more like a Styrofoam cup
instead of one made of fine porcelain.
Aesthetic
writing has action, imagery, and dialog.
The diction (choice of words) is compelling. Aesthetic writing is based in imagery—to
reach deeply into the reader’s consciousness.
It is specific. It is something
new. It incorporates the poetic and lyrical techniques, as Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. does in his “I have a Dream” speech, or William Shakespeare does in
Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy.
Here’s
is Samantha’s poem, focused with aesthetic strategies:
When will We Awaken?
The sirens shriek,
3:30 in the morning, again.
Somewhere nearby there is a fire.
This one will be cooled by ready water.
The children will be carried
by people in wet rubber coats.
What of the shrieking in another place
where no one will carry the children to
safety—
away from bombs bursting in air
giving proof through the night
that a flag may wave?
Not
only has Samantha expressed her outrage at war, but, in focusing on specific
imagery and strategically invoking the “National Anthem,” she’s argued against war. She fulfills all three major modes of
writing: Self-expressive, Interpersonal, and Aesthetic.
Combinations
Samantha
successfully combined all three modes of writing to satisfy a hierarchy of needs. Sometimes, it can be hard to separate the aesthetic
from the self-expressive and the interpersonal in some work. And that is devoutly to be wished for—to have
all three integrated.
Ask
yourself when you are writing, what need or needs you are predominantly
satisfying. And when it comes to writing
workshop, be honest with yourself:
If your purpose is mainly self-expressive, then you will not want
anything but approval. Your purpose will
be mainly focused on your own experience.
Ask your readers to refrain from suggestions for revision.
If your purpose is interpersonal, writing workshop will
provide you an opportunity to test-run your ideas and to strengthen your
chances at better results. Be open, listen, thank your readers for their
support and commitment to your writing.
If your purpose is
predominantly aesthetic, you might,
again, only want approval. You might welcome readers to offer their
appreciation for different aspects of your writing style as they manifest in
your work.
But if you can combine all three purposes, you will afford
yourself a lively and supportive atmosphere for becoming the liveliest writer
you can be.
Works Cited
“Pyramid of Needs.”
becauseicanteach.blogspot.com http://becauseicanteach.blogspot.com/2018/03/
“Writer’s Wrodeo: Whoas and Wonders” http://becauseicanteach.blogspot.com/2019/03/writers-wrodeo-workshop-woes-and-wonders.html
Britton, James. “Notes on a Working Hypothesis
about Writing.” Prospect and Retrospect:
Selected
Essays of James Britton. Ed.
Gordon M. Pradl. Montclair: Boynton/Cook,
1982.)
Rich, Susanna. The Flexible Writer. Fourth edition. Boston: Allyn/Bacon, 2003.
