Metaphor, Writer’s Block, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Writing Process

Abstract

W W hile many scholars have called for more attention to games, much of the work examining connections between video games g and writing has been essentially metonymicin nature, drawing on comparisons between similar acts in related spheres. Typically, that is, scholars have investigated the potential for in-game reading, writing, and communication (such as chat boxes in the World of Warcraft series) to inform out-of-game reading, writing, and communication. 1 As valuable as these literally literate connections are, in this chapter, I move beyond the metonymic to examine the metaphorical: the ways in which in-game actions and processes that do not involve communication or argument, acts such as t navigating a dungeon or battling monsters, can nonetheless help us reimag-ine actions and processes germane to composition and writing. Specifically, I will look at the shared language of space and movement used in talking about both writing and gaming, and suggest that key differences lie in the direction of movement and the position of desired goals: the differences between a way forward and d a way in. By bringing these metaphors into consciousness, and then into conversation, teachers can help students transfer productive attitudes from gaming into writing, and students can help teachers understand their existing attitudes, struggles, and successes. Moreover, teachers can design syllabi and curricula that reinforce the lessons Moreover, teachers can design syllabi and curricula that reinforce the lessons R. Colby et al. (eds.), Rhetoric/Composition/Play through Video Games