Keep Calm and Write On

Style or Substance?

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by
Sophie Pembroke
on July 13th, 2010 at 06:10 PM (699 Views)
I write like H. P. Lovecraft. Proof: [URL]http://iwl.me/s/147eabd8[/URL]

That is, according to the I Write Like website, which analysed my word choice and writing style, and compared it to those of famous writers.

Since the text analysed was [I]Dream a Little Dream - [/I]a women's fiction romance about weddings, retro style, and making your own way in the world, I'm not sure [I]quite [/I]how accurate we can take this as being... After all, there isn't a single mention of Fish Men in the whole book.

[LEFT]But more interestingly, other books provided startlingly different results. [/LEFT]

[LEFT][I]An A to Z of Love, [/I]a romance about family, and scandal, and fish, is apparently more like Dan Brown. ([I]Not [/I]particularly flattering...)[/LEFT]

[LEFT][I]Sea Fever, [/I]on the other hand, which is actually about Fish Men, in a way - a YA paranormal murder mystery featuring Selkies - is compared to Stephen King.[/LEFT]

[LEFT]It's a shame that the site doesn't give more information about how these decisions are calibrated. I tested it with different text from the same books, in different orders, but the results were consistent. [/LEFT]

[LEFT]At the very least, I suppose it shows that each book has its own style, and tone, as befits the story it is telling. And I'm happy with that. Although, I do wonder if all of H P Lovecraft's books would actually score the author himself on comparison...[/LEFT]

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  1. Merlyssa Cormack - July 13th, 2010 07:13 PM
    Merlyssa Cormack's Avatar
    Interesting site. I plugged in a scene from my erotic contemp and got Stephen King, two scenes from my erotic paranormal and got Vladimir something and Chuck Palahniuk. Both WIP's are in first draft form currently so not surprising its a bit of a jumble. I haven't read any of those authors so hard to say if its true or not...and like you. what criteria do they use? how many author samples do they have?
  2. Sophie Pembroke - July 14th, 2010 03:44 PM
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    It's fun, and interesting - but not necessarily that accurate or informative, I think!
  3. Heather Howland - July 16th, 2010 02:56 AM
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    I did this a few days ago, pasting in the first two chapters of the book I have out on subs, and got Chuck Palahniuk. I looked up his style and was surprised that it nailed my writing style, straight down to the funky little-known genre I write - transgressional fiction. Now I want to try with other WIPs!
  4. Staci McGlothlin - July 16th, 2010 04:23 AM
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    Thanks for sharing this site. LOL. The first ms said I write like Ian Fleming and the second 2 (different ones) said I write like Stephen King. LMAO--that is just best ego boost I could have had tonight! Thanks again!
  5. Melinda B. Pierce - July 16th, 2010 11:26 PM
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    I went from Anne Rice to James Joyce. Cute!
  6. Liz Pelletier - July 17th, 2010 09:12 AM
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    I have no idea what the algorithm or meme is for judging the various styles, but I put in three different excerpts from different places in three different manuscripts, and I got Stephen King every. Single. Time. LOL Does that mean I'm predictable, or my books are just creepy as all get out? LOL
  7. DMac - July 17th, 2010 01:46 PM
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    I used the opening scene of my chick-lit/women's fic WIP (about 2-3 pages )and it said I write like -- JAMES JOYCE!?

    LOL! not sure that's a good thing...now, if it had said I wrote like Marian Keyes or Jennifer Crusie or Jennifer Weiner, I'd be thrilled. But James Joyce?!

    I must be using too many run-on sentences...;D
    I wonder how the program analyzes the content?
  8. DMac - July 17th, 2010 01:54 PM
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    Naturally I couldn't resist playing with this some more, and I ran a couple more scenes through The Analyzer -

    My MC waking up with a severe hangover = Margaret Mitchell.
    My MC almost having sex on a car = Anne Rice

    James Joyce, Margaret Mitchell, and Anne Rice?

    Hmm.
  9. Maebec - July 18th, 2010 04:15 PM
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    I tried it and it seems I write like Dan Brown. I read his first nove, but lost interest in the next ones.
  10. nara_malone - July 18th, 2010 06:37 PM
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    I put in a poetic 55 word flash story I wrote, erotic bdsm. It says I write like Steven King. Was it the rope bondage, do you think, or the being consumed in flames? It was supposed to be a metaphor
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