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Austin Barger

Professor Pierson

October 23rd, 2017

Autoethnography

Autoethnographies are the careful process and examination of the writing process of a

discourse. The authors of autoethnographies will examine a community theyre intimately aware

of and connected with, where the analysis allows for a greater idea of what makes up the

discourse with. This is the course of action for this autoethnography where I will investigate the

fantasy subreddit located at https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/, a discourse devoted to the

consumption of fantasy media with a heavy focus of novels. Authors such as Steven Erikson,

Robert Jordan, and Robin Hobb are revered for their writing prowess by the discourse full of

loving fans and fanatics. I myself have been active within the discourse since middle school, and

feel a level of camaraderie within the community whose interests and preferences align with

mine to a shocking an extent. We all have similar, though obviously different, attitudes towards

books. We, as a community, all participate in the same literate activities, reading, and do it often.

How did a group so large all develop such stark similarities? That is, in fact, due to the literacy

sponsors of the group who pulled us all together. Authors such as those mentioned above

sponsored literacy for thousands.

By Deborah Brandt's definition, a literacy sponsor is any agents, local or distant,

concrete or abstract, who enable, support, teach, as well as recruit, regulate, suppress, or

withhold literacy- and gain advantage by it in some way.1 Going by this definition we can

clearly see that authors are an influential literacy sponsor for the discourse with a tangible,

monetary advantage gained with every sale. Although having such a wide, varied array of

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literacy sponsors means that there is not one single author whom we can name as our, meaning

the whole community is a motivator. Instead, age seems to be deciding factor in which authors

motivated the readers into the discourse. Said motivators are the primary literacy sponsors,

meaning they were the first sponsor to engage and recruit an individual. J.R.R. Tolkien and T.H.

White are the most popular primary literacy sponsors for people who joined the discourse in the

50s. This doesnt mean that someone who joined in the 90s cant have J.R.R. Tolkien as a

literacy sponsor, but given the popularity trends and interests of the time theyre more likely to

have started with Robert Jordan, Robin Hobb or G.R.R. Martin. Thus, you can analyze primary

literacy sponsors to guess at how long someone has been within the discourse, or you can just

ask what motivated them to start. This knowledge was pried from several discussions based

around peoples first reading experience, and when it was, and through those discussions Ive

found the link between primary literacy sponsors detailed by Brandt, and author popularity that

brought so many people into the delightful discourse.

Language and reading is essential when a discourse is all about reading. Its not

debatable; you cannot be a part of the community without the ability to consume books. Gee

phrases it as such: If you have no access to the social practice, you dont get in the discourse.2

No matter the method or language, thats the first, and the obvious, necessity to join the

discourse. What is more important, however, is an interest in the genre the discourse enjoy:

fantasy. You cant practice an interest. Without that youd never be able to properly join the

discourse and would instead be a mush fake. The tried-and-true method of joining having an

author of any popularity as a literacy sponsor who by reading their work allows you to finish the

apprenticeship and become a proper member. How much use you could get out of the discourse

depends on which novels, or how many, youve read and the diversity of your reading palate.
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Thus, the discourse created an increasingly popular literacy activity to compel them to diversify:

fantasy reading bingo. The bingo is a literacy activity designed to inspire reading within the

discourse, and to prompt members to read books outside of their comfort zone; bingo squares

represent all manner of challenges for participants. Its a fun activity, and a prime example for

why the discourse was created; to gather with like-minded people to discuss and explore the

genre. The more tangible link and relation to other members in how we write. Unsurprisingly,

the discourse that focuses on reading and writing writes more professionally than most other

discourses. Most entries are properly punctuated and contain good verbiage. Stepping into the

community reminds me of reading a novel more than anything because of how similarly the

language is used. In his article Gee mentions specific terms or references that are unique to a

discourse comprised by the attitudes and knowledge of the group. The community, being well

versed in literary terms, use them frequently. Perspective, Mary Sue, and references to authors

all have distinct meanings and examples that come to mind because of how often these topics are

brought up. This like-mindedness pervades throughout the community, from how we feel into

how we think as well.

Rhetorical situations are an important aspect of any discourse. Defined by Grant-Davie as

a complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigence

which can be completely or partially removed if discourse, introduced into the situation, can so

constrain human decision or action as to bring about the significant modification of the

exigence.3 Reading, as mentioned above, is a popular activity in the discourse. In fact, it is

certainly the most popular rhetorical situation of the discourse. When reading, youre the

audience for the author, who is the rhetor. Constraints, for you, are your limiting or beneficial

factors, such as time available, interest in the genre, or general literacy. Before people can read,
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someone must write; without the author there would be no reading or discussion, and therefore

no discourse at all. Its no sacrifice, however, to join the ranks. Theyre the literacy sponsors for

the whole discourse, and a good author can get a lot of praise and a modicum of fame. When

writing, the authors of said fantastical novels are the rhetors, and the audience is comprised of

discourse members, though some rhetors may specialize in a specific genre, such as Joe

Abercrombie who targets fans of grimdark fantasy. The discourse knows what to expect from an

Abercrombie work- ghoulish and morally grey protagonists and settings that manage to

somehow win you over, and thus, his name works as both a positive and negative constraint. To

vary from his typical format while still under the Abercrombie name will turn off some of his fan

while having a hard time to pull in a new audience. Situations like this example here occur all

throughout discourses. Big companies use brands to get peoples attention, recognition, and cash.

Brandt says as it such: Like Little Leaguers who wear the logo of a local insurance agency on

their uniforms, not out of concern for enhancing the agencys image but as a means for getting to

play ball.4 All manner of discourses, from sports to reading to research, are affected by the

writers who make what we read. Now the final rhetorical situation is the discussion constituent,

for which the r/Fantasy subreddit is an outlet. Each discussion has its own rhetor with their own

problem to find answers to, with the target audience being anyone in the discourse available,

rhetors will use the medium to address their exigence, that being a problem or situation that

prompts an author to write. All three of the rhetorical situations create a chain of reaction: The

writers invoke responses from the readers, who crave conversation and discussion that helps

them gather ideas to enable them to write their own story with sets the chain back up. Its an

exponential growth model that helps promote the discourse by widening variety and getting

people involved. Another rhetorical situation that happens in the discourse that helps this looping
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process is advertising, be it through recommendations, fan content, or actual adverts, the

discourse is full of advertising at every step that helps the discourse spread to even more people.

From having constant exposure to the discourse for nearly a decade, is no wonder I

gained an interest in the writing aspect. Brandt herself notes the effects literacy sponsors have

with literacy takes its shape from the interests of its sponsors.5 This is shown within my life by

ever increasing interest I have in the writing process of my favorite authors. In one such

investigation, while watching the r/Fantasy literacy sponsor Brandon Sandersons writing

lectures I found a pattern throughout the dozens of papers Ive written theres a process that they

all share in development; I start with a few arguments or points that Im passionate about

writing, format the paper so that they are all as even as can be while maintaining overall clarity,

and then fill in the gaps. While it may seem shoddy, it works for me and is similar to the method

of many bestselling authors. Although Sandersons works are heavily planned out and full of

twists, other authors employ a strategy akin to strolling through a park, as he says, where

theyre not sure themselves what will occur in between their own favorite scenes, but theyre

excited to discover it themselves. Both methods have pros and cons, but a mix of both can work

incredibly well. From said lecture I learned why and when to use either strategy to maximum

effect. Said planning process is more fun, to me, than filling in planned bullet points, and allows

for my writing to be relaxing and entertaining throughout, and thats is the prime reason I use it.

The effect that the discourse has had on my writing goes beyond the drafting stage, entering into

my syntax and vocabulary as well. Understanding syntax, for me, was a process of endless

repetition and practice, primarily done through reading books of the discourse. Some authors,

such as Joe Abercrombie or Mark Lawrence, have an intimate understanding of the English

language, allowing them to churn out perfectly written and refined to a shocking degree. Others,
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such as Patrick Rothfuss and Neil Gaiman, seem to transcend the English language with the

beauty on their pages. By reading these literacy sponsors Ive learned many words and numerous

ways to use and combine them to make them most alluring. As Gee said, the best way to learn

and join a discourse is by enculturation into practices through scaffolded and supported

interaction with people who have already mastered the discourse.6 Throughout the years this

exposure has helped my writing develop and become my own, thus making the authors my most

valuable literacy sponsors. Because of them my own writing style has been refined rigorously,

unconsciously or not. My own style now involves a heavy amount of planning in 3-6 main key

points that my writing will most heavily address, and my writing phase brings out the best in

those points while filling in the transition blanks. My writing process is also incredibly recursive,

as its filled with habitual editing and revising as the writing goes on. Once the writing is

finished I attempt to disconnect myself with it as much as possible so I can take the approach of

a new reader ad have information thats critical to the proper revising and editing that occurs to

make my writing properly finished. The best way use what the community has given me and

truly master my own writing is more practice and refinement to integrate the rule Ive learned

from the community at a subconscious level that will improve my writing.

Throughout this autoethnography Ive discovered many things. One, first and foremost,

the r/Fantasy discourse is one full reading, writing, and discussion that has seemingly developed

its own culture when is comes to syntax, vocabulary, and quirks. Secondly, the members of the

discourse all share writing habits and interests that defines the community as a whole, and gives

comfort with its familiarity to those heavily engrossed into the literacy activities that the

community enjoys. Had it not been for the discourse its unlikely I would have immersed myself

so heavily into the habit of reading and become who I am today.

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Bibliography

1. Brandt, D. (1998) Sponsors of Literacy. In E. Wardle & D. Downs (Eds). Writing about

writing: a college reader (pp. 68-99). Boston: Bedford/ St. Martins

2. Gee, J.P. (1989) Literacy, discourse, and linguistics. In E. Wardle & D. Downs (Eds).

Writing about writing: a college reader (pp. 279-295). Boston: Bedford/ St.

Martins

3. Brandt, D. (1998) Sponsors of Literacy. In E. Wardle & D. Downs (Eds). Writing about

writing: a college reader (pp. 68-99). Boston: Bedford/ St. Martins

4. Grant-Davie, K. (1997) Rhetorical situations and their constituents. In E. Wardle & D.

Downs (Eds). Writing about writing: a college reader (pp. 485-509). Boston:

Bedford/ St. Martins

5. Brandt, D. (1998) Sponsors of Literacy. In E. Wardle & D. Downs (Eds). Writing about

writing: a college reader (pp. 68-99). Boston: Bedford/ St. Martins

6. Gee, J.P. (1989) Literacy, discourse, and linguistics. In E. Wardle & D. Downs (Eds).

Writing about writing: a college reader (pp. 279-295). Boston: Bedford/ St.

Martins