The Writer's Role

While examining Marcia Muller's piece for the New York Times, "A Novelist's Life is Altered by Her Alter Ego," it is clear that Muller has a very  unique view of a writer's role. In her perspective as an author, through the decades she has lived and grown with the main character of her books. In essence, she has taken on the character's persona in certain ways in her own personal life. Muller has adapted to her subject over the years and originally created her with attributes that she herself wanted to possess (Muller, 2001). Throughout the course of her career, her audience of readers has in a sense seen her grow personally through the writings and story lines she has created for her character.

Muller's article is certainly interesting to read as well as contemplate how it relates to authorship on social media. Anything a person writes online, should be a connection to them in some way. They should be proud to share it and it should be personal to them. This is the message that Muller is trying to get across in her article and in that sense, I agree with what she is portraying as the writer's role. In addition, a writer of online content must be thorough and verify any information that is posted. It is important to keep in mind that once something is put online it can never be taken back. That content is a reflection of its author.

Throughout this course my perspective on the  author's role has changed. I've always thought it important to create accurate and truthful online content. However, now I am more aware of the gravity and importance of what can happen when that information is incorrect. Those who are creating online material should remember that they are responsible for the information that is authored and being disbursed at faster rates than any other time in history. The information should be important not only to the writer but also the audience. It should hold gravity and be relevant.

REFERENCES

Muller, M. (2001, August 31). A novelist's life is altered by her alter ego. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/13/books/13MULL.html

Multimedia Examples

Examples of Multimedia Elements

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/01/world/asia/afghanistan-bergdahl-release/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
- In this example of a breaking news story from CNN, the article incorporates video and audio regarding the return of Boew Bergdahl to enhance the telling of the story. 

http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/artifacts-revealed-in-tomb-of-king-henry-vii-photos-140530.htm
- In this example Discovery News uses photographic documentation of a recent archaeological find to enhance the article. By using pictures, the audience is given a more in depth description of what items were found and their significance.