The “Ready-Made-Writer” in a Selection of Contemporary Francophone Literary Advice Manuals

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter explores the concepts of discursive and non-discursive ethos, as well as the notion of authorial stance (posture) as defined by Jerôme Meizoz (2007; 2011) in order to analyze the figure of the “ready-made-writer” in French manuals and writing guides at the beginning of the twenty-first century. “Authorial stance,” “ethos,” and “persona” are all terms that take stock of the way in which authors declare themselves writers in the literary field. For Meizoz,posturebegins at the moment of publication, that is, at the moment of the official recognition of the author. A close reading of some recent French writing manuals, however, reveals the outline of an implicit portrait of the author budding into a legitimate artist and credible writer, and contains indications on how to carve out a space of creation for oneself. The identities presented by the manuals are shaped by literary models and invested by a collective imaginary. They conform to culturally accepted archetypes, because “becoming a writer, and doing the work of a writer are part of the same phantasm” (Ducas 2002). Learning the craft of writing thus also entails acquiring a corporeal dramaturgy or an “auctorial scenography” (Diaz 2009) which is a prerequisite for creation. This can be achieved by going through various authorial stances, from “visionary” to “apprentice” and “manager of one’s own small enterprise.”