Elizabeth Wardle provides great insight regarding the development and importance of authority in “Identifying, Authority and Learning to Write in New Workplaces”. The section focusing on authority stood out to me right away because I have already experienced this struggle a bit in my own life.
When I first started writing for FanSided’s Swarm n Sting website, I was beyond nervous. I felt like I needed to write differently for some reason, and I was scared that my writing would not fit on the website. Wardle states that “those listening accept the speakers pronouncement because the speaker is who she is.” It took me a little bit to become myself again, which was very difficult considering my situation before.
Prior to writing for FanSided I wrote for a website called “LG HOOPS“. On this website, I was myself. I knew what I was saying and knew what I was saying was right, because I supported it to a point where you could not argue me. I made sure I was still a fan when I wrote, and thought about what fans want to hear or talk about.
I developed authority within this community and eventually several of my articles charted to the top of the site very quickly. I got positive feedback from readers which fueled my sense of authority and made writing so much easier.
The point here is that even though I had developed such a strong sense of identity and authority within my LG Hoops community, it all went away as soon as I switched to FanSided. I went back to square one and felt beyond lost as a writer. Wardle highlights that “authority is bestowed by institutions, can be just as easily withdrawn by those same institutions or its members.” Although I switched communities entirely, I now had no sense of authority which made writing feel impossible.
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