My daughter told me about the website "iwl.me", where you can submit a sample of writing, and a program tells you which famous writer it thinks you most resemble. It told her she writes like J.D. Salinger, which she thinks is a surprising but apt comparison.
So I submitted the opening chapter of "The Keystone", and was informed that I write like David Foster Wallace. That was an intriguing comparison, because like Wallace I'm a satirist who makes liberal use of irony, but also tries to give his characters depth beyond the ironic facade. Could a program that doesn't really understand what's going on pick that up from simple textual cues?
One of the techniques I use in third person limited narration is for the narrator's voice to pick up the nuances of the POV character's dialog style. I wondered what iwl.me would make of the opening of my novel "The Wonderful Instrument", which is told in three scenes from three different POV's:
(1) Nellie, a girl growing up on a Dust Bowl ranch; she's a tomboy with a romantic streak she doesn't recognize in herself.
(2) Maximilian, an aristocratic teenage refugee from 1930s Europe; he's suave and charming, but beneath the veneer of worldly sophistication he's shallow and narcissistic.
(3) Dr. Chin, described by another character as "the liberal arts' answer to Dr. Frankenstein." He's a brilliant and unconventional scholar who's tormented by a dark secret.
Here's the authors iwl thought each character's scene sounded like:
Nellie: Margaret Mitchell, author of "Gone with the Wind".
Maximilian: Dan Brown, author of "The DaVinci Code"
Dr. Chin: H.P Lovecraft (!!!)
I have to say I found this exercise both surprising and gratifying, particularly the Brown comparison. I can't *stand* Brown's characters, particularly Robert Langdon. I have nothing against Brown personally, but Langdon is one of those wish-fulfillment protagonists that set my teeth on edge, an insufferable, self-satisfied know-it-all who lacks any ironic shading or self-awareness. That's Maximilian, who is supposed to sit right on the knife edge between being likable and detestable until he learns his lesson on the final page.
So who does iwl think *you* write like? Does the comparison make any sense? The program *can't* possibly understand what's going on in a scene; so how do you think it does what it does?
Posted by Merlion-Emrys (Member # 7912) on :
I've used this thing a bunch and gotten all manner of results.
I get Ursula K. LeGuin pretty frequently, which I think is apt, she is a big influence.
I get Lovecraft now and then, which also fits.
I've gotten J.K. Rowling several times which I'm mostly indifferent too.
I get David Foster Wallace a lot also, which I don't know what to make of since all I really know about him comes from looking him up on Wikipedia.
I got Shakespear a couple of times. A story I wrote several years ago about a crippled boy meeting up with the Pied Piper in Depression era America got that Russian author, Nobokov, which I thought was sort of weird. But I can't even begin to remember all the different results I've gotten.
Posted by genevive42 (Member # 8714) on :
On a piece of my novel it told me I write like Jane Austen, which I've gotten before on this site.
On a humorous flash piece in second person it told me I write like Douglas Adams.
And on another humorous piece, third person, it said I write like William Gibson.
On my WotF finalist told from an alien pov, it told me I write like Neil Gaiman.
On a slightly abstract sf short it gave me James Joyce.
And on one of my most bizarre stories it said I write like Anne Rice.
Take it for what you will. Maybe I should start researching multiple personality disorder. Posted by enigmaticuser (Member # 9398) on :
New Arbor Day (Novel): I got David Wallace Foster for about a first page. But I get Dan Brown for a later page. And Anne Rice for the last.
Evangeline (Novel): 1st Arthur Clarke, middle P. G. Wodehouse, last David Foster Wallace.
Aiyela the Space Gypsy (short story series): Arthur Clarke, then Arthur Clarke, Gertrude Stein.
To my shame I've never read any of these people and some I only recognize because they were mentioned on Hatrack discussing iwl. Therefore I don't mind any of them. Though I think it's interesting that two out of three of my short stories apparently have a similar voice, which is good, but apparently my longer works average on this David Wallace Foster guy who I've never heard of. I might have to check some library.
Just for fun I dug out a couple of my oldest works and got:
First novel of 4, 2nd-3rd draft: Arthur Clarke (again?!?) First novel of . . ., 2nd draft: Dan Brown Incomplete, semi-abandoned Novel: Stephen King
I don't know if the comparisons are to useful, but its interesting to think about string. My Arthur Clarke comparisons are all my, shall we say, less subtle writing. Story openings or the slightly noiresque narrative of the Aiyela stories. And of course the very heavy handed opening to my old novel.
My Dan Brown references come from either a middle part or an opening of a very modern, down to earth story (minus vampires, werewolves, dragons, and godblessed heroes).
Don't know what to do with that, but its interesting.
Posted by Merlion-Emrys (Member # 7912) on :
Oh and most of my novel chapters got Arthur C. Clark which is sort of annoying. I mean I like 2001 as much as the next person, but I'm violently opposed to his views, I don't write sci-fi(usually) and I don't really see a lot of similarity in style.
Posted by babooher (Member # 8617) on :
I submitted and it told me I write like a turtle with a hypo-active thyroid. How did it know? Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
I wonder if all the variety just means that the story requirements have a big influence on the story style or voice.
I also wonder if it would tell some of these famous authors that they write like themselves in even one of their stories (and if it did, would it say they write like themselves in all of their stories?).
Posted by History (Member # 9213) on :
Ok, I played. I write like...
*Frank L. Baum (don't think so) *H.P. Lovecraft (don't think so) *Chuck Palahniuk (who's he?) *Dan Brown (I wish) *Stephen King (I really wish) *Neil Gaimen (I'm beginning to like this program ) *Kurt Vonnegut (so it goes)
Good to know my writing is consistently inconsistent.
Respectfully, Dr. Bob
Posted by Tiergan (Member # 7852) on :
Ok so I gave it a try. 5 times, quite fun. Floored, not so much as the authors they picked out, but the fact that they were limited to 2. The 5 pieces I picked represented my most polished works.
Dan Brown - 3 times, all sword and sorcery fantasy geared towards adult.
J.K Rowlings - 2 times, all fantasy, geared for upper-middle grade.
Posted by MattLeo (Member # 9331) on :
I think narrative voice *ought* to vary with the requirements of a story; whether you vary it with the scene POV character (as I like to do) is an artistic choice, and it's not necessarily something you want to be entirely consistent about. At least not necessarily blatant.
But whether you vary your voice or not, you ought to be in control of it. The way your narration sounds shouldn't be an accident.
Personally, I am highly skeptical of a piece of software like this. Frankly I was surprised that it came up with such appropriate authors for each POV scene I submitted.
Just for fun I submitted some actual texts by famous authors. This is who the program thinks they write like.
* Isaac Asimov, "Youth": Neil Gaiman
* Isaac Asimov, "Foundation": Douglas Adams
* Terry Pratchett, "Witches Abroad": Douglas Adams
* Charles Dickens, "Great Expectations": Jane Austen
* Edward Bulwer-Lytton, "Paul Clifford": Edgar Allen Poe
* Elizabeth Peters, "He Shall Thunder in the Sky": Dan Brown
* Arthur C. Clarke, "Childhood's End": Arthur C. Clarke.
* Dave Barry, "History of the Millenium (So Far): H.P. Lovecraft.
* Vladmir Nabokov, "Lolita": Vladmir Nabokov
* Harper Lee, "To Kill a Mockingbird": James Joyce
Leaving aside the imponderable (Harper Lee like James Joyce?), this seems to show the program is at least somewhat better than random. It pegs satirist Terry Pratchett as his friend and fellow satirist Douglas Adams. It also pegs Asimov's novel about galactic civilization as being written like Douglas Adams, who *also* wrote a famous series about galactic civilization.
Even where the program seems far afield, the choice is interesting if you consider the persona the writer is using. Dave Barry is writing in the persona on a commentator on strange history, and he gets Lovecraft. Elizabeth Peters is misidentified as the far inferior author Dan Brown, but she is writing in persona of an eccentric Victorian era intellectual, and the program cannot detect irony.
I don't think this program is so interesting from the point of view of telling you what kind of writer you are. I think a better way to use it is to get a kind of baseline read on your writing, then when you have a piece where you're attempting a certain effect, see what it makes of the change in your voice. Are you producing the same old style?
Posted by Crank (Member # 7354) on :
Since I write in multiple genres, I decided to test a sample from all of them.
Young Adult: Cory Doctorow I don't know much about him. Perhaps, I will seek out some of his writings.
Flash (speculative): Agatha Christie I'll have to give that one some thought...
Science Fiction: Arthur Clarke I can live with that comparison.
Mainstream: Cory Doctorow OK, now I seriously need to check out dude's work.
Lyrics / Poetry: This is where it gets weird(er). Depending on the lyric passage, I got compared to Arthur Clarke, H. P. Lovecraft, and Vladimir Nabokov. I was hoping to have my lyrics compared to Mikael Akerfeldt's, but this list is cool, too.
Interesting experiment.
S!
Posted by Pyre Dynasty (Member # 1947) on :
I tried a handful of work. I got a lot of Kurt Vonnegut. (Also a fair amount of Cory Doctrow.)
Then I put in OSC's recent review column, it also came up Kurt Vonnegut. Interesting.
So I found some of Kurt Vonnegut's work, guess what? He writes like H.P. Lovecraft.
Posted by Osiris (Member # 9196) on :
Figured I'd try this on my finished works:
Platinum Blonde : Chuck Palahniuk (apparently the guy who wrote Fight Club. Wouldn't know, haven't read his work.)
Voices from the Corral : Chuck, again. (I might have to go read this guy).
Two Zombies Walk into a Bar : Jack London (The story does deal with some social issues, but it is zombie humour. Go figure).
For Want of a Child: Dan Brown (really? Maybe because this deals with story is about an ancient Egyptian myth?)
The Nanite Imam: Dan Brown (Okay, apparently if you write anything that has anything at all to do with Middle Eastern culture, you write like Dan Brown, not that I'm complaining).
The Battle for Mechanicka J.K. Rowling. (Okay, there are wizards, and magic, and a nerdy protagonist).
I tried some W.I.P.s just for fun, hilarious. One chapter of my wip novel is good old Chuck again, another is Shakespeare, yet another is Orwell. It seems pretty clear by 'writing like' this puts a lot of weight on content, and not style of writing. Another WIP: Mario Puzo.
I've always been dubious of software trying to analyze a person's writing. I was silly enough to actually try to write a program that evaluated prose, by looking at frequency of adverbs, variance of sentence length, use of a database of weak nouns and verbs. It was fun to try, but kind of meaningless, I think.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
I'm intrigued, no end, but don't have time to dig up some sample this morning.
I never thought my style resembled anybody else's in particular, but I could be wrong. Nobody's enlightened me different...
Posted by Merlion-Emrys (Member # 7912) on :
quote:It seems pretty clear by 'writing like' this puts a lot of weight on content, and not style of writing.
More than content, in terms of what the story is about (which I don't think it can read) I think word choice is a very big factor in how it works. Obviously, those two will be related. When I tested the write ups on my blog for each of my Nine Roads, 7 of them came out as Ursula K. LeGuin, one (Orange) came out as J.K. Rowling and the description of the Blue Road got H.P. Lovecraft...I'm guessing because there is a lot of talk about depths and heights and watery-type stuff and those words are probably keyed to Lovecraft.
Posted by Tiergan (Member # 7852) on :
This has me a little intrigued, I like to figure out how things work.
So I wonder how much went into this little program. Writing scale? Sentence length? White space? Paragraph length? Passive sentence percentage? All the little items that Word does through their tools? Key words? Adverbs? Purple prose? Dated words, etc. In essence a program could tell a lot, about style(maybe not correct word, but flow, and pacing because of sentence structure, etc.)
As far as my results, 3 Dan Brown and 2 J.K Rowling. The Dan Brown intrigues me the must, I write fantasy and see no direct keywords that would hit there. I did 1 chapter of my fantasy novel, 1 fantasy short story, and the zombie story from Snapper's book-end-challenge. So forced to dig deeper into this. I have never read his work, although people I know who have say his stories are fast, and sometimes too past for the setting, leaving them lost and waiting to catch up. I get that a lot with my writing, the most common comment, so, maybe. But could a computer pick that up from sentence structure, length, and so forth, to a degree I suppose.
J.K.Rowling, Don't laugh, I have never made it past the first 2 chapters of Sorcerer's Stone. I hear once I do it will change and be a better POV. Even googled it and sure enough, the first thing the director said, was the first 2 chapters were done from a different pov and once he decided to mainly ignore them, then movie fell together fine. I am assuming the two times I was linked with her, both short stories, fantasy, young pov, and magic as in spells were strong throughout the story.
At any rate it was a rather fun little diversion.
Posted by MAP (Member # 8631) on :
I got Margret Mitchel for my female POV and Stephen King for my male. I guess it is good that they read differently. Posted by Smaug (Member # 2807) on :
I just copied in the opening three paragraphs of my new story and got Dan Brown. Then I tried the opening scene from my novel I'm editing and got Stephen King.
Posted by Owasm (Member # 8501) on :
I played around with the thing. It appears that when I write in a different voice, I get a different author.
I've gone from Stephen King for a SF novel to L. Frank Baum for a YA sorcery novel. A WotF story which is more of a steampunk setting was H.G. Wells. My latest WIP is a Chuck Palahniuk, which is disturbing because it's a Jane Austen rip-off.
I once zombie-ized a James Joyce short story. Guess what I ended up with? James Joyce!
Posted by MattLeo (Member # 9331) on :
quote:My latest WIP is a Chuck Palahniuk, which is disturbing because it's a Jane Austen rip-off.
I wouldn't read too much into the specific writer it guesses for you; it can't really understand your thematic sensibilities.
It might not be surprising for Austen to cross-wire with very modern authors. She certainly reads as more contemporary than Victorians like Poe or Dickens. She remains very popular today and many might choose to consciously or unconsciously emulate her socially observant narrative style rather than load their writing with Flaubert sensory touches.
Posted by GreatNovus (Member # 9671) on :
I typed up a few sentences off the top of my head and hit analyze. It came back saying I write like Stephen King. Of course I gave it a few sparse lines, so I give that less than a grain of salts weight for reliability. Nice to see though.
Right under that is has an amazon add for Stephen King books and theres a book by Blake Crouch listed. That I thought was odd.
Posted by rcmann (Member # 9757) on :
Margaret Atwood Stephenie Meyer Mark Twain
Posted by Smaug (Member # 2807) on :
I just copied a few paragraphs from the last chapter of Rothfuss' Wise Man's Fear and he supposedly writes like Neil Gaiman.
Then I just ran several of my short stories past it and got one J.D. Salinger, one Arthur Clark, one Margaret Mitchell, and four Stephen Kings.
[ February 26, 2012, 08:06 PM: Message edited by: Smaug ]
Posted by Shaygirl (Member # 9761) on :
So the list goes like this:
Fop and Ferret got four :
Ray Bradbury James joyce H.P Lovecrfact Vladamir Nabokov
(I pasted parts in seperately, my action scene got Bradbury...is that a good thing? I honestly have never read any of these authors, so I don't know how to interpret.)
Sir Knightess: Anne Rice (?)
Fogotten Age: J.K. Rowling (hmm...)
1st prologue: Shakespreare (what??)
I Was Alone: Rudyard Kipling ( )
So based on this turn out, the only conclusion I can come to is that I write like me .
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
Well...I put a paragraph from my latest finished story, and it said I write like Cory Doctorow.
Then I put one of my "grievance statements," a discourse on why something at work violated the contracts and agreements...and it said I wrote like Kurt Vonnegut.
More later, I'm sure---this looks like a fun toy.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
I put up several samples from my work, and I got back the names of several writers I've read little of, or not at all. Cory Doctorow popped up several times.
I put up the whole of an Internet Fan Fiction piece where I was parodying a Heinlein story---plot and all---and it said I write like J. D. Salinger!
Further grievance statements got Kurt Vonnegut again.
I wonder what that says about their writing...or does it say that they write like me.
Posted by angel011 (Member # 9765) on :
James Joyce (for a horror story), Lewis Carroll (fantasy), Cory Doctorow (mainstream), Stephen King (horror), J.K. Rowling (a silly horror), Margaret Atwood (horror), Lewis Carroll (dark fantasy). Stephen King made most sense, at least for that story; most of the others make sense too, at least somewhat, although I can't tell about Doctorow because i haven't read him yet.
I also entered two stories in Serbian, and got Dan Brown.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
I put the Gettysburg Address in: Lincoln writes like Mary Shelley.
Then, for good measure, I put this parody of the Gettysburg Address as if delivered by Dwight Eisenhower: it's written like H. P. Lovecraft!
(The Declaration of Independence is also written like Lovecraft...)
Posted by MattLeo (Member # 9331) on :
OK, Robert, you've got me intrigued. Here are samples some presidential speeches, analyzed by IWL.ME; I skipped the introductory parts of the speech to get over the greetings etc.:
Franklin D. Roosevelt 1st: Edgar Allen Poe Franklin D. Roosevelt 2nd: H.P. Lovecraft Franklin D. Roosevelt 3rd: Kurt Vonnegut Franklin D. Roosevelt Infamy Speech:William Gibson (!!!) Franklin D. Roosevelt 4th: H.P. Lovecraft Harry S. Truman: H.P. Lovecraft Dwight D. Eisenhower 1st: Jonathan Swift Dwight D. Eisenhower 2nd: Jonathan Swift John F. Kennedy: H.P. Lovecraft Lyndon Johnson: James Fenimore Cooper Richard Nixon (Checkers Speech): H.P. Lovecraft Richard Nixon 1st: Arthur C. Clarke Richard Nixon 2nd: William Shakespeare Richard Nixon Resignation: Kurt Vonnegut Gerald Ford (swearing in):Douglas Adams Jimmy Carter: William Shakespeare Ronald Reagan 1st: H.P. Lovecraft Ronald Reagan 2nd: Edgar Allen Poe George H. W. Bush: Mario Puzo Bill Clinton 1st: Jonathan Swift Bill Clinton 2nd: William Shakespeare George W Bush 1st & 2nd: H.P. Lovecraft Barack Obama nomination acceptance: Arthur Clarke Barack Obama: George Orwell
And just for comparison: Winston Churchill "We shall fight them on the beaches": Jonathan Swift Winston Churchill "Blood Sweat and Tears: H.P. Lovecraft Winston Churchill "Iron Curtain": Jonathan Swift Lord Macaualay's Second Speech on Copyright (1842): William Shakespeare
Posted by Treamayne (Member # 9700) on :
OT:
quote:Originally posted by Tiergan: J.K.Rowling, Don't laugh, I have never made it past the first 2 chapters of Sorcerer's Stone. I hear once I do it will change and be a better POV.
Starting with Chapter three of Book 1 - everthing is Harry's POV until (IIRC) chapter 2 of book 6. If you decide to read the series you will see how JKR's writing style matured through the books.
--------
On Topic: I ran through 2 short stories (All were written for contests I had entered - and were themed outside my normal stories).
Fantasy came up as J.R.R. Tolkein
Historical Fiction came up as Shakespeare
Fiction came up as David Foster Wallace (Don't know much about this one).
I read on the blog that the analyzer code is now open source (Racket Programming language) so if I get some time, maybe I'll take a look at it and see if I can determine the criteria it uses. It seems like genre defining keyords are a big part from what I've read in this thread.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
Tried out a couple of classic lit samples. Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities) writes like Charles Dickens. Mark Twain (Huckleberry Finn) writes like Mark Twain.
But Kenneth Grahame (The Wind in the Willows) also writes like Mark Twain.
And Edgar Allan Poe (The Fall of the House of Usher) writes like H. P. Lovecraft.
I wish I knew just what writers and writing they used to compile whatever it is that the program uses to determine who writes like who...so far, a lotta writers haven't come up...anybody get Hemingway or Fitzgerald or Thomas Wolfe?
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
Don't you people have your own writing to do?
Although I will confess to curiosity about whom they're drawing from for their comparisions. They don't seem to have a very large pool of writers to compare people to, so far, anyway.
Posted by Merlion-Emrys (Member # 7912) on :
So, I ran a great many of my short stories through the thing. I think they may have made some updates because it seems I got different results for some stories that I'd already tried it out on in the past but its hard to be sure.
Book of Sorrow, Tears of Hope, High Fantasy, Universe of the Nine Roads: Anne Rice
Dark Arts, Horror/”Rustpunk”: Dan Brown
Prism Ship, High Fantasy: L. Frank Baum
Set the Controls For the Heart of the Sun, Weird Space fantasy based on a Pink Floyd Song: Douglas Adams
Silent and Still They Wait, Modern Fantasy: Dan Brown
Damsel in Distress, Modern Fantasy/Adventure: Agatha Christie
The Thaw, High Fantasy, Universe of the Nine Roads: J.K. Rowling
Iron and Fire, Red Riding Hood adaptation, Universe of the Nine Roads: Margaret Mitchell
The Worm of the Waste, Horror/”Rustpunk”: Stephen King
The Strange Machinery of Desire, Horror/”Rustpunk”: Chuck Palahniuk
As Above, So Below, Surreal, dream-like Fantasy: Arthur C. Clarke
The Price, Modern Fantasy/Ghost Story: Lewis Carol
Galateon, High Fantasy, Universe of the Nine Roads: Arthur C. Clarke
The Falling Star Modern/High Fantasy blend: Douglas Adams
Twilight Meetings, High Fantasy: Ursula K. LeGuin
The Wages of Decay, Horror/”Rustpunk”: Dan Brown
A Destroyer, A Protector, High Fantasy, Universe of the Nine Roads: Neil Gaiman
Angels of Smoke and Rust, Horror/”Rustpunk”: Gertrude Stein
Harmony, Horror/”Rustpunk”: Stephen King
The City of Night, High Fantasy: Mario Puzo
The Mystery of the Sea, High Fantasy, Fall of Atlantis: H.P. Lovecraft
Isles of Storms, High Fantasy: Ursula K. LeGuin
Interesting that “The Worm of the Waste” and “Harmony” both got Stephen King, as “Harmony” is a sort of sequel to both “The Worm of the Waste” and “The Wages of Decay”, though “Wages” got Dan Brown. Indeed, a couple of “Rustpunk” stories, which are in a setting of a modern nature but clearly not the real world and “Silent and Still” which is in a “real-world” modern setting apart from one big speculative element got Dan Brown. Ursula K. LeGuin pops up twice for High Fantasy, though I’m surprised none of the UotNRs stories I put in got her. Indeed, all of the Nine Roads stories I put in got different authors. I’m also a little floored by the Douglas Adams hits, as little of my work is particularly humorous. I barely even know who Gertrude Stein and Mario Puzo are.
Posted by Smaug (Member # 2807) on :
quote:anybody get Hemingway or Fitzgerald or Thomas Wolfe
No, but one way to find out is to type in some of Hemingways actual work, or Fitzgerald's or Wolfe's.
Posted by Smaug (Member # 2807) on :
I just did Hemingway, and he writes like Fitzgerald. Just kidding. He writes like Hemingway.
Posted by C@R3Y (Member # 9669) on :
Who the hell's William Gibson? I just got him for one of my favorite stories.
Posted by walexander (Member # 9151) on :
lol, to funny.
my latest I'm going to submit to wotf was rated william shakespeare
My last short story sent out - william shakespeare
the novel i have been working on for the last two years. Stephen king.
I took screen shots just for fun of it. definitely good for a laugh.
Now back to the real world. As kathleen said there not going to write themselves...ratts Posted by walexander (Member # 9151) on :
quote:Originally posted by C@R3Y: Who the hell's William Gibson? I just got him for one of my favorite stories.
top sci fi writer. it's a big compliment if thats what your aiming for.
Posted by Merlion-Emrys (Member # 7912) on :
I can see a little of William Gibson in you C@R3Y.
Posted by C@R3Y (Member # 9669) on :
My stories, novellas, novels (not all of them): The Horsemen of Route 116 – William Gibson The Fall of Steven Baymont (novel) – Stephen King The Abusers – J.K. Rowling The Driver and The Hitchhiker – J.D. Salinger The Last Joker – Ian Fleming Fall on Me - Issac Asimov For We Are Legion – William Gibson Eye of a Shadow (novel) – James Joyce Flipside (novel) – Douglas Adams Decision (novel) – James Joyce Between the Lines (novel) – Cory Doctorow Dead End – Cory Doctorow Forgotten Memories (novella) – Arthur Canon Doyle The Hungry Baby (micro flash) – Vladimir Nabokov That Dark Place (poem) – James Fennimore Cooper Injected - Arthur Canon Doyle Creatures of the Night – Margret Atwood Lifeless – Margret Atwood Jealousy Kills (novel) – Stephen King/James Joyce Little Bastard (novel) – Arthur Canon Doyle The Animal I Have Become – James Joyce
I'm going to start reading a few of these authors. Lol.
Posted by Brendan (Member # 6044) on :
Ok, with a number of stories, I received
5x Cory Doctorow 3x James Joyce 3x Stephen King and then a smattering of single story authors including Ursula LeGuin, Arthur C Clark, Raymond Chandler, Vladimir Nabokov, Chuck Palahniuk, Anne Rice and Rudyard Kipling. One that impressed me was a story written from the POV of a professor's slightly manipulative offsider. It chose Arthur Canon Doyle, which was exactly the feel I was wanting in the story. However, the story that was an attempt at a cosy tragedy / sense of wonder story ala John Wyndham, was given Raymond Chandler (how do they get hard boiled out of that?). My one story with a religious focus, of course, came out Dan Brown.
I was disappointed that none came out with Asimov, and my one Arthur C Clark story was a ghost story. The Cory Doctorow set is interesting, as it comprises of my most sciencey, but also ranges from two very light stories to a very heavily themed one.
Posted by MartinV (Member # 5512) on :
Apparently, I write like Harry H. Harrison (boy, what an original pen name! ... or parents with a really sick sense of humor.)
Second time I got Stephen King. At least I've heard of this one though I haven't read any of his books.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
I always thought it was his real birth-name, but the Wikipedia entry on him says he legally changed it.
Posted by walexander (Member # 9151) on :
I was disapointed that my own name didn't come up...lol. Well maybe someday Posted by Rhaythe (Member # 7857) on :
Dan Brown. I'm okay with that.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
I pasted all the stories I've got up on my website into the browser---hey, they were convenient to copy-and-paste, though it took a while on some of those twenty-thousand-worders---and got back the results.
In the order they currently appear on my website, I write like (1) J. K. Rowling, (2) Dan Brown, (3) Arthur Clarke, (4), Anne Rice, (5) Lewis Carroll, (6) Chuck Palahniuk, and (7) Mark Twain.
I'd say of these writers, only one had substantial influence on me---that is, if "Arthur Clarke" is the "Arthur C. Clarke" I know. (Don't think I've seen him billed any other way; not sure why he'd be billed this way.)
Two (Lewis Carroll, Mark Twain) had some influence, but at somewhat of a remove. I've read just one book each of J. K. Rowling and Anne Rice, and, far as I know, nothing of Dan Brown and Chuck Palahniuk.
It's a fun thing to play with, but, in all honesty, I don't think it's telling me much about my writing.
(For good measure, I put the copy on my home page through the site---that says I write like Cory Doctorow.)
Posted by Merlion-Emrys (Member # 7912) on :
It is Arthur C. Clarke. If you click on his name in the badge it takes you to an Amazon listing of his stuff. I have no idea why they leave the C. out either.
Posted by C@R3Y (Member # 9669) on :
In an earlier response, to Merlion and Waxlander, not that it matters now much,
Hmmmm, I think I will read some of William Gibson now. I am curious. Ha Ha.
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
)![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
: