Unleash Your Inner Author
No, I'm not pulling out the ol' Ouija board during a full moon or hosting a séance by candlelight. Instead, I'm talking about using online apps to analyze one's writing style and compare it to that of famous authors. Just for fun, I analyzed a couple of sample paragraphs from my manuscripts when they are in their final stages of editing. Interestingly, I don't get the same results for each manuscript. My writing style has been compared to the likes of Agatha Christie, Samuel Clemens, Roald Dahl, and Virginia Woolf.
Meet David Foster Wallace
Two writing apps can compare your writing style with that of famous authors to determine which famous author you might write similarly to. The first app is called I Write Like. This is my favorite app as it provides more advanced analysis and delves deeper into writing styles. I Write Like compared my writing style to that of David Foster Wallace.
David Foster Wallace was an award-winning American author known for his novels, essays, and short stories. He was also a professor at Pomona College in Claremont, California. Wallace gained widespread recognition for his 1996 novel, Infinite Jest, which was included in Time magazine's list of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present. David Ulin, the book editor of the Los Angeles Times, hailed Wallace as one of the most influential and innovative writers of the last 20 years. Even though Wallace's novel, The Pale King, remained unfinished, it was published in 2011 and became a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2012.
Discover Your Writing Twin
If you're curious about which famous writer your writing style resembles, you can check it out with I Write Like. This statistical analytic tool analyzes your word choice and writing style, comparing them with those of famous writers. Give it a try and see who you write like!
Enter Stephen Crane
The second similar app is called Who Do I Write Like, which is an older analysis program. After analyzing my writing, the app determined that I write like Stephen Crane.
Stephen Crane was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. He was incredibly prolific during his short life and wrote notable works in the Realist tradition and early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism. Modern critics recognize him as one of the most innovative writers of his generation. He was born on November 1, 1871, in Newark, NJ, and sadly passed away on June 5, 1900, in Badenweiler, Germany.
Unleash Your Inner Novelist
Perhaps you're one of those people who reads books and thinks, "I can write better than this." Or maybe you've daydreamed about being your favorite novelist. If this resonates with you, then you should check out one or both of the above website that matches your writing with that of a famous author. It's as simple as visiting either of the aforementioned sites and entering a sample of your writing (they recommend submitting several paragraphs). Their algorithm will then match you with a renowned writer based on word choice, stylistic features, and other parameters. While the results aren't scientifically proven, it's a fun exercise. Plus, you'll have the bragging rights to tell your friends that your writing style resembles that of a famous author.
I'd appreciate hearing your comments. Please, feel free to leave your thoughts in the Comment Box at the bottom of the page.
Bestselling Fiction Author
Stories with an LGBTQ+ Twist
corrupting readers since 2008
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