The fragmentation of the writing self: Using dialogic reflection to explore the writing process of an autobiographical novel

Abstract

In this article, the author-researcher presents three intertwined texts: excerpts from an autobiographical novel, extracts from a reflexive journal written during the writing of that novel, as well as a theorized account and analysis of the overarching creative process. These texts talk to each other as a form of intertextuality in the similar way that the three generations of a Chinese Indonesian family depicted in the novel interact with one another and present differing perspectives and fresh insights. The issues of the writer’s inner voices and multiplicity of the self feature prominently in this work, the result of a deep and critical engagement with the author-researcher’s creative writing and reflective thinking processes. Together, these three interrelated texts capture and explore multiple perspectives interacting during the writing process while at the same time present how the self and sites of meaning-making can be constructed through writing.