


In Donald M. Murray’s “The Interior View” composition is within us. Murray writes “The interior view of the writing act reveals that writing is an individual search for meaning in life.” (Murray 25). The interior view is drawing composition from within yourself versus influence from other people or works. Murray is saying that the best writing is what comes from within. This means that not only is writing a search for meaning in life but writing gives us meaning. This meaning is what breeds creativity in composition. It keeps us interested instead of stagnating and becoming bored with reading and writing. Creativity is at the base of writing and art. A writer must draw the creativity on paper as a painter would on a canvas. Murray believes the job of the artist is to communicate something to the reader. Communication is what makes writing subjective. By looking at Donald Murray’s belief in communicating our own individuality, we can see that writing is more of an art form than a science; this is important because art breeds creativity and personal discovery. 

Murray restates his definition of a writer many times throughout “The Interior View” to explain that a writer is alone as he is writing and at the end of the day, it is between the empty page and the writer (Murray 26). It is important for the writer to understand that even in 


collaboration, the writer portrays his own ideas onto the page. The idea of isolation suggests that there is more than one way to convey a message. When Murray says, “A writer is an individual” (Murray 26) he means that no one but that individual can produce the exact same product. A writer must be subjective so writing is a subjective act. A piece of writing is also subjective because of its audience. Murray recognizes the importance of the audience when he writes, “The good writer, of course, doesn’t write entirely for himself” (Murray 26). A writer will definitely try to convey a message in composition, but how a message is received depends on the reader. Murray wants a writer to leave what he or she has written, take a step back, and allow the reader to view the product (Murray 28). The reader’s understanding and how they receive the piece is their own. This means that the communication of writing is subjective because the message conveyed is dependent on the reader.

The core of objectiveness is facts. Science is not art because its roots contain hard evidence that cannot be interpreted, only understood. Writing is both art and science. Murray believes that any true scholar knows it is foolish to believe that your message or interpretation hasn’t been written about before (Murray 26). Therefore, your ideas and conclusions have been drawn already, and people have a right to be objective towards your writing and criticize its facts. “The writer’s illusion of innocence is essential.” (Murray 26). If a writer’s interpretation has already been written down, then why write? It is important for a writer to believe that their composition is the first of its kind because if the idea of being commonplace lingers, then there is no real motivation to write. A writer writes because it is the way ideas are composed that expresses one’s individuality. Although ideas in writing may not be original, the way the ideas 


are portrayed certainly are. The unique use of language is what makes writing more subjective than objective, making the act of writing about creativity and less about fact.

Creativity is the root of art. It allows for the safe keeping of individuality. Murray says that “when you sit at the writer’s desk, in the writer’s skin, you discover his feeling for language as a living tool.” (Murray 27). By this he means that the base of creativity in writing is the use of language. “The painter doesn’t paint colors he has seen, he uses color on the canvas to see.” (Murray 27). A writer utilizes language to discover his own meaning. Also, one writer will not apply the same use of language as another writer to describe a similar topic. Instead, the writer will bring a unique perspective. Murray uses the comparison of a writer and a painter to show the creativity in art and writing. Murray quotes Andre Gide, who believes that the ability to create something unique as an individual is most important in writing (Murray 27). The point is to not take for granted the process of writing. Murray and Gide both believe that writing is a creative form. 

“A writer is an individual who uses language to discover meaning in experience and communicate it.” (Murray 26). Murray’s full definition of a writer shows the creativity in writing. The individual creates from within, and does not get influenced by outside distractions. The writer uses language as a tool, just like a painter would a paintbrush. Discovering the “meaning in experience” is the search for meaning in life that writing with an interior view gives us. Also the writer communicates a message that the audience gets to interpret for themselves. This makes writing subjective, and therefore an art. Writing is more art than science, which is proven through comparison of subjective viewing and reading, rather than objective viewing and reading, as well as understanding the creative process.



