Professional writers frequently use socially shared “metaphorical stories” to describe their composing. In one prominent metaphorical story, writers of fiction cast their characters as collaborators in the process of writing, in consequence providing a complicated and integrated description of their composing. For writers of fiction to ascribe independence to their characters has implications that go far beyond the “performance” concerns of authors engaged in literary discussions: Metaphorical stories are an important means by which people understand as well as communicate their composing experiences.
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