  The process and teaching of writing have been controversial for a very long time for a multitude of reasons. Writers write for themselves but some people believe that they only write for an audience and money. In Donald Murray’s "The Interior View" he philosophizes about writing using his own knowledge and background as a published author combined with he has read and heard about from other published authors. Murray describes what a writer is and then closely examines his explanation. Donald M. Murray's "The Interior View: One Writer's Philosophy of Composition" is about creative individualism and reveals that writing is just an artistic medium.

     Murray speaks of the individuality of a writer and states that they must “feel that through writing he will discover something which is uniquely his.” This source of individuality in finding ones uniqueness is all part of the creative arts process. A writer just like a musician or a painter must find their own style, no one else’s style can be the same as their own otherwise it loses all meaning and significance. Murray also says that “it never has been easy for the writer to maintain his individuality, and it never will be.” Just as before, the writer’s individuality is the most important part, it keeps people interested. This also leads back to writing being an art form. In order to be an individual one has to be creative, and creativity is the basis for all arts. In music, especially jazz, one must find their own unique sound and style. Only John Coltrane sounded like John Coltrane and only Jimi Hendrix sounded like Jimi Hendrix. No one can perfectly imitate the way they sounded, just like no one can perfectly imitate the way another writer writes. No one can write just like Shakespeare did and no one can write just like Mark Twain, it is their individuality that sets them apart. Their own creativity is what makes a writer truly a writer.

     A writer also uses their writing to express themselves, they feel through their writing. They put what they feel into their words, whether it be happy, sad, or somewhere in between. Murray speaks of how a writer explores “his own experience for meaning” and “communicates by building-through language-a sturdy discovery of thought,” meaning that a writer thinks through their writing and expresses themselves through it. This also shows that the writer builds upon his own writing, he uses each passing word to think of the next and through this he finds what he expresses what he has discovered he is feeling. The musician chooses their notes and rhythms carefully in order to put themselves in the music and feel through what they play. A work of visual art can portray emotions with what is painted and with the color schemes that it is painted with. Music, painting, and writing are all forms of art where the creator uses their skills in specific fields to express themselves, discover their emotions, and think through their experiences.

     Murray talks about “communicating effectively” by doing “some final tinkering and make some adjustments in his words… to reach a particular audience.” This states that a writer is not writing for himself or expressing himself through his words. It shows that a writer writes only what is known and writes for an audience, for money. The writer only communicates facts and opinions through an individual way of writing. However, his interpretation is not what Murray means to convey. In the context of the paragraph about communication the quote relates to more of how the writer decides who he means to send his message to. The writer must use his words to communicate his “own experience of discovery.” The writer does not just communicate what is known, they express how they feel, what they have experienced through their writing. The writer is self-centered but still writes to have his experiences relived by the reader in their own interpretation.

      Murray wants writers to understand that writing is in fact a creative process and an art form. Throughout his piece he reveals the secret of writing and how to write to be that it is what the writer makes of it. Murray’s rhetoric shows that the only way to write is by expressing one’s self through language and making other people feel what the writer feels. The reader can interpret the writer’s words in many ways and each reader draws their own significance through a writer’s work. The writer’s intention is what matters most. The writer intended to express their own experience in their writing and discover how they feel, they intended to write for themselves.