Students in Dr. Nicole Pfannenstiel’s summer Games and Writing class crafted blog posts exploring play theory. Over the next several weeks, we will share their theory posts in this space to offer a variety of perspectives on play, games, and writing, written by current graduate students in the MA and M.Ed. English programs.
What Play Can Teach Us About Writing
By: Quinn Haldeman
In Chapter 1 of Play Matters, Miguel Sicart writes, “Through play we experience the world, we construct it and we destroy it, and we explore who we are and what we can say” (5). Here, he discusses how play allows us to reflect on the world around us and create an identity based on that. That is exactly how I would define the writing process as well. Through writing, people create a space for their voice in a world of other voices. Play teaches us how to navigate the writing process, with a focus on creativity and socialization.
Writers need to be creative within the process of writing. Sicart explains how play can be creative as, “Playing is both accepting the rules of the game and performing within them according to our needs, personality, and constitution of a playing community” (17). When you are given a writing assignment, you must work within the rules defined by the discourse community. However, you cannot simply regurgitate the ideas of the readings which may have given you background on the theory. Your writing needs to show your individual thoughts and personality in relation to the larger discourse. Both avenues require one to explore and experiment. Creativity is needed to balance the individualization of the larger rhetorics at play.
Collaboration is essential to the writing process as the writer creates space for their ideas in a discourse. Sicart explains the contextual nature of play as, “Play happens in a tangled world of people, things, spaces, and cultures” (6). Play happens within various contexts that are always shifting, to which the player must navigate as they make their own path of play. The writer must negotiate for space within the world just as the player does, which is why writers need collaboration throughout the process. At the graduate level, I come with different experiences and a different understanding of the world than my peers or professor. As we write about our interpretations of a given theory, we need to receive feedback on these unique ideas to negotiate our space in the conversation. Collaboration questions existing ideas, ignites new ones, and creates a common language between members of the discourse community.
Writing is a delicate balance of the singular expression and the larger world. Play teaches us how to navigate these spaces to create meaning for ourselves through creative expression and socialization. Writing and play are both processes that follow the path of the mind as it explores the world, balancing personal beliefs and values with those created by a larger cultural context. Both are deeply personal as each person creates their own meaning, yet reliant on collaboration as their ideas are questioned or inspired through the process.
Works Cited
Sicart, M. (2014). Play Matters. MIT Press.