14 - Spatial organization of the dialogical self in creative writers

Summary

This chapter aims to show how dialogical self theory (DST) can inspire empirical research in creative writers. DST proposes that dialogue in and of itself is a dynamic process achieved by the exchange of ideas between the I-positions which represent different parts of the self, or various points of view present in the environment and culture. The chapter introduces innovative concepts and is an interdisciplinary enterprise in which one can connect psychology, psychobiography and the theory of literature. The participants are recognized Polish novelists who have agreed to reveal something important about their writing processes and about the relationships with their novelistic figures. Analysing the results of the spatial self-representation procedure and the interviews, the authors found three kinds of relationships between the author's I-position and the characters' I-positions: the author as an omniscient expert, the author as a spectator, and the author as a partner of the novelistic figure.