Bloor, Anthony

About the author: Before moving into higher education, Anthony Bloor worked as a computer programmer in car manufacturing, then in various capacities as a freelancer in the film and TV industry. He has carried out research in artificial intelligence, and research on the use of computers for the teaching of writing. He began a BA in English, graduated with a BSc in Pure mathematics, has an MSc in Information Technology, and a PhD for a study of fiction writing.

Multidisciplinary Study of Fiction Writing

2003 0-7734-6800-5
Models of the writing process are used in teaching, research, and the design of software tools for writers. This study constructs a model of fiction writing. It approaches the subject in an investigative fashion, looking firstly at the range of models in current use. The result is a basic model of writing, which encapsulates the findings of empirical research into writing behavior. It shows that current theories of writing make assumptions about language, whose roots can be traced to Chomsky’s transformational grammar and its forebears. To add specificity to the basic model, the study turns to Saussure’s view of language as a system of signs, and pursues the idea that semiology and literary theory can be used to develop theories of writing as well as of reading. It discusses work by Jakobson, Genette, Todorov and Barthes, and proposes a hypothesis about the ways in which fiction writers create meanings. Written for readers in the humanities, it will be of equal value to any scholar who is interested in the theory and practice of writing.