There's a brand new website that allows you to submit a writing sample so they can tell you which author's style is similar to your own.
As someone who writes frequently, I was excited to find out which brilliant literary mind is closely connected with mine.
Was I a Joyce? A Bronte? Henry James, perhaps?
So I submitted my writing sample and was told I most resemble--
Chuck Palahniuk.
Now, I wasn't terribly disappointed by this. After all, Chuck Palahniuk is not only a best-selling author, but he's something of a pop icon.
Being compared to the guy who contributed Fight Club to the world isn't too shabby.
The thing is...
I don't think I write anything like Chuck Palahniuk.
For one thing, I'm not an edgy writer at all. Palahniuk's not afraid to go into the darker dimensions of the human mind. I prefer to skate on top of the human mind like a little kid on a safely solid frozen pond.
When I heard Chuck Palahniuk, the first word that jumps to mind is "brave." I wouldn't say I'm a brave writer. I always thougth I was more in line with someone like David Sedaris or Sarah Vowell.
Then I started seeing who my friends were getting compared to, and I noticed a trend emerging.
Mismatches were happening all over the place. One of my friends submitted multiple samples and was compared to Augusten Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, and Emily Dickinson.
Now, my friend is very talented, but to have those three authors locked up in your mind, you'd probably have to be somewhat deranged.
That's when the obvious became--well, obvious. The website evualates your writing style not based on content, but on the way your writing looks.
Based on grammatical choices and word usage, I'm Palahniuk's twin. If you actually READ some of his writing and some of mine, it's clear that we're on two different ends of the spectrum.
The website is still a fun little way to kill time, but if really want to find out who you write like, go to the old stand-by--
Crack open a few good books.
As someone who writes frequently, I was excited to find out which brilliant literary mind is closely connected with mine.
Was I a Joyce? A Bronte? Henry James, perhaps?
So I submitted my writing sample and was told I most resemble--
Chuck Palahniuk.
Now, I wasn't terribly disappointed by this. After all, Chuck Palahniuk is not only a best-selling author, but he's something of a pop icon.
Being compared to the guy who contributed Fight Club to the world isn't too shabby.
The thing is...
I don't think I write anything like Chuck Palahniuk.
For one thing, I'm not an edgy writer at all. Palahniuk's not afraid to go into the darker dimensions of the human mind. I prefer to skate on top of the human mind like a little kid on a safely solid frozen pond.
When I heard Chuck Palahniuk, the first word that jumps to mind is "brave." I wouldn't say I'm a brave writer. I always thougth I was more in line with someone like David Sedaris or Sarah Vowell.
Then I started seeing who my friends were getting compared to, and I noticed a trend emerging.
Mismatches were happening all over the place. One of my friends submitted multiple samples and was compared to Augusten Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, and Emily Dickinson.
Now, my friend is very talented, but to have those three authors locked up in your mind, you'd probably have to be somewhat deranged.
That's when the obvious became--well, obvious. The website evualates your writing style not based on content, but on the way your writing looks.
Based on grammatical choices and word usage, I'm Palahniuk's twin. If you actually READ some of his writing and some of mine, it's clear that we're on two different ends of the spectrum.
The website is still a fun little way to kill time, but if really want to find out who you write like, go to the old stand-by--
Crack open a few good books.
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