Harris and Sullivan define writing

In his book “Rewriting: How to do things with texts” Harris defines reading and writing in a way that I have not seen before. Rather than focusing on making sure that all work is being properly cited and quoted, he focuses more on building on what a writer has already created. It almost seems as if he imagines as writing as one large, conglomerate form, with each writer contributing a small part that others may build upon. In this way, Harris also defines reading, as an action that despite reading the same text, each reader will process it differently and add their own experiences and ideas to it. For the majority of my life, writing has focused on finding the meaning of a written piece, finding some way to make it my own, and making sure to cite the author correctly. I have never really been instructed to build upon another’s writings and to point out both “the limits and the uses”. This writing also involves a lot of focusing on what the author is trying to do with the words, rather than what he means by them.

Harris discusses how writing is like email, constantly forwarding an email bringing on numerous new comments while always reflecting back on the original email. On the other hand, Andrew Sullivan discusses how writing is more like a conversation, with both the writer and the reader contributing to the topic at hand. Both of these ideas show writing as a more freeform concept that is constantly building. They both show the connection between the reader and the writer; both contributing to an almost never ending topic. It’s starting to seem as though blogging is used as a way to constantly build upon other people’s opinions. Commenting on other blogs, writing your own on your own opinions, or blogging about another writer’s piece are all ways that you can contribute to the build.