# I (allegedly) Write Like... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 15, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828 "2010-07-15T20:18:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/1 "2010-07-15T20:18:00Z")
Following a link from elsewhere, I found the site [I Write Like](http://iwl.me/), which purportedly peruses a piece of prose and tells you which well-known author your style resembles. After pasting various chunks of my posts here into its mysterious analytical engine, I have been informed that I write like Jack London, Arthur Conan Doyle, Leo Tolstoy, and Ursula K. LeGuin. I suppose it depends on my mood. Of course, I also posted a quote from Jack London into that enigmatic blank, and was informed that he _also_ wrote like Arthur Conan Doyle, so perhaps there is some underlying similarity that eludes those less perceptive than the all-knowing I Write Like. So, which–and perhaps more to the point, _how many_–authors do _you_ Write Like? ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/2 "2010-07-15T20:51:34Z")
Using the OP from [thread=477963] _My day was like a horror movie_ [/thread] I write like David Foster Wallace. But in [thread=528372] _Anarchy and the delivery of complex services_ [/thread] I apparently write like Dan Brown -☹ [Thread=505174]_How I set my testicles on fire_ [/thread]earned me another David Foster Wallace. It’s at least partly content-based, as [thread=41056]\*What do you have in your paranormal defense kit \*[/thread] got me a Bram Stoker Finally [thread=480276]\* A Quest Fulfilled - Hot Glass and Ray Guns\* [/thread] yielded another David Foster Wallace. So, 3 out of 5 is pretty consistent. I’ve got to check out [this guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Foster_Wallace). ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/3 "2010-07-15T21:01:21Z")
Chuck Palahniuk, who I have never heard of. David Foster Wallace, who I have also never heard of. Jack London, who I’ve heard of, but never read. … Stephanie Meyer. Oh god. Just kill me now. I’m almost crying now. Ok, maybe it’s because that particular story is really overwrought. Ok, let’s try something completely different. Arthur C. Clarke. Okay… and that particular story I was writing in-character as a vaguely Japanese cat-girl. Something in that is just not right. Dan Brown. Again, just kill me. Okay, time for recent stuff. HP Lovecraft. I don’t get that one. At all. Stephen King. Ummm, Dan Brown again. I kinda get it that time (I haven’t read Dan Brown, but uh, that particular story is… special. Melodramatic.) William Gibson. Isn’t he the one who wrote Neuromancer? Yes. And that was a porn story. I’m confused. George Orwell. I can kinda see that. Let’s try a BIG sample. Agatha Christie. I was not aware that she wrote porn. Different series. Mark Twain. Oookay. Douglas Adams. I can actually see that, although I can’t claim to be nearly as funny. William Gibson again. David Foster Wallace again. Neil Gaiman! YES! And I can see that one. Neil Gaiman again. Same series, same tone, so yeah. Douglas Adams again. I really can’t see it for that story. JK Rowling. Um, okay. Sure. Stephanie Meyer again. I haven’t read her stuff, but I can actually sort of see it for that one. Douglas Adams again. I don’t get that one, but sure. Chuck Palahniuk again. Oh. He wrote Fight Club, which I haven’t read. Okay, whatever. And now for something completely different - livejournal entries. Chuck Palahniuk again. Huh. David Foster Wallace again. I may need to read his stuff. Ray Bradbury. ?!! Okay, that’s probably far more than I needed to do. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/4 "2010-07-15T21:01:48Z")
I pasted in a short story I wrote and it said I write like **Margaret Atwood** … I can see that. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/5 "2010-07-15T21:04:19Z")
I wonder how many authors are in here. I took three different chunks from a single paper and got the following: 1. Dan Brown (you bastards!) 2. David Foster Wallace 3. H. P. Lovecraft Wow. With three different chunks from the same speech – 1. Stephen King 2. Margaret Atwood 3. David Foster Wallace again ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/6 "2010-07-15T21:05:21Z")
The intro to a story I’m working on earned me Dan Brown. The About Me section of my cheapo website earned me David Foster Wallace. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/7 "2010-07-15T21:08:25Z")
I apparently write a little like Lovecraft, a little like Joyce, and a little like Palahniuk. It appears my muse has multiple personalities. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/8 "2010-07-15T21:08:44Z")
My [Lebanese Civil War Reenactment Society](http://www.aqoul.com/archives/2006/0..._war_reena.php) post got me Kurt Vonnegut. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/9 "2010-07-15T21:12:05Z")
Woo! Scored Stephen King for my [forgetting a female](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=563144) thread. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/10 "2010-07-15T21:15:11Z")
Okay, in fairness, I went back and posted a much larger sample–the entirety of my [“Curious Parcel”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=440833) epistolary story (minus the responses from other Dopers, of course). The first installment of the story is what elicited the original London result, and the next-to-last was labeled as LeGuin. With the entire story, it came up with Edgar Allen Poe. I can’t really argue with that. Does anyone have the full text of a NaNoWriMo attempt to jam into the works? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/11 "2010-07-15T21:26:17Z")
David Foster Wallace - for exerpts from three different pieces. Another exerpt rated a Kurt Vonnegut. I’m going to have to check out Wallace. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/12 "2010-07-15T21:53:19Z")
I got a Jane Austen, a Stephen King, an Isaac Asimov, a David Foster Wallace, and a William Gibson. I must be awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/13 "2010-07-15T22:17:07Z")
First it said I write like Ursula K. LeGuin, so I added the phrase “Wank. Balls. Walrus magnet.” to the end and it said I was like David Foster Wallace. I guess we know the difference between those two authors now. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/14 "2010-07-15T22:21:23Z")
Is that site sponsored by David Foster Wallace or something? I’ve never heard of the dude before this. ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/15 "2010-07-15T22:29:52Z")
Try pasting this into the box: > [@](#): > > Hablo Espanol? Tu Madre su Padre. > > Que? No los cabajos. My entries keep scoring as King, Lovecraft, Brown, or Atwood. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/16 "2010-07-15T22:38:34Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > I apparently write a little like Lovecraft, a little like Joyce, and a little like Palahniuk. It appears my muse has multiple personalities. Me too, but at least Lovecraft and Stephen King wrote in the same genre. I’m not sure what to make of James Joyce, though. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/17 "2010-07-15T22:41:37Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Me too, but at least Lovecraft and Stephen King wrote in the same genre. I’m not sure what to make of James Joyce, though. Yup, I’m pretty bemused by all of this. Especially because my writing style owes a hell of a lot to Vonnegut, who didn’t even make an appearance. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/18 "2010-07-15T22:41:58Z")
David Foster Wallace Raymond Chandler James Joyce HP Lovecraft ---
**Author:** ![Wisthekiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@Wisthekiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisthekiller)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/19 "2010-07-15T23:15:50Z")
Apparently the words to Anarchy in the UK (I don’t write at all, so I have nothing to contribute) come up with some Will Gibson, some guy that writes science fiction. I smell reality. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/20 "2010-07-15T23:28:05Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > Does anyone have the full text of a NaNoWriMo attempt to jam into the works? I pasted about half a novel in and got Agatha Christie. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828.md?page=2)