# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/61 "2010-07-16T21:06:24Z")
Would anyone be surprised that I had two posts analyzed as David Foster Wallace? And two others as Stephen King? Didn’t think so. ETA: How long before this thread floats to the top of Google for searches on David Foster Wallace? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/62 "2010-07-16T21:57:11Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > One thing’s come out of this; I’ll probably read “Infinite Jest” by David Foster Wallace because of this. Though, mind you, if it’s pretentious crap that only critics could love, I won’t finish it. DFW can indeed be a bit pretentious (or perhaps self-indulgent, show-offy; he has an amazing vocabulary and makes sure you know it) but is also enormously entertaining. _Infinite Jest_ is a long slog and should not be transported without the use of an appliance handcart, but is quite a read. You might want to start with some of his short stories or non-fiction essays, some of which latter are available online and tend to be excellent. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/63 "2010-07-16T22:26:50Z")
Another Chuck Palahniuk here. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/64 "2010-07-16T22:27:02Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Though, mind you, if it’s pretentious crap that only critics could love, I won’t finish it. Yes, we’ll all keep that in mind. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/65 "2010-07-16T22:43:12Z")
I typed in the first page of \*Atlas Shrugged, \*and discovered that it could have been written by Raymond Chandler. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Hazel\_Ice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Ms.Hazel\_Ice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Hazel_Ice)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/66 "2010-07-17T02:16:22Z")
A few paragraphs of a short story: David Foster Wallace A letter of recommendation: Charles Dickens (hmm…) A chapter of a novel-in-progress: Dan Brown I’m curious as to how they analyze these writing samples. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/67 "2010-07-17T03:43:38Z")
I submitted a little parody I scribbled a few years ago: > [@](#): > > gricklegrass, past Whos and Horton, where slow and sour’s a windy day, brings us by a gruvvulous regraminafication back to Lerkim Once-ler and environs. > > Sir Lorax, orator d’ arbor, fr’under the Truffula trees, had passencore been reuplifted from North Stichumbra on this side of the smeary pond of ambulent Hummingfish, to mufferfight his befurrified war, nor had yerturtle’s stacks by the pond Sala-ma-Sond exeggerated themsnuvs to Lord Droon’s googootchgooses while they went doublegumming their munchhunch all the time: nor avoice from aspeck bellowsed whowho to pentpolluxed pachydope: not yet, but vronischwinn after, had a cappedcat upended a bland old nagfish: not yet, though all’s floobed in flibberelry, were zaxxy soothers wroth with twoone nathanzax. Rot a tuft of old truffula’s thneeds had Once-ler Jr. or Sis knitted by grinchlight and mooney end to the rinkerfink was to be seen toodling down the hooberbloob. > > The floobity-fall of the yookzookwall entailed at such short notice the flippity-floop of Flunnflunnel, erse softish niceman who had hid in the tunnel, that the Humpf-Humpf-a-Dumpfer of humself preep-prumptly sent an unquizzeling one well to the west in queekquest of his tumpf-a-tumpf-toes. > > What was the Lorax, who comest ever without being invoked? Why was it there, whose coming is unknown, and what of all the things which the company of the precentors and of the grammarians of Theogeisel’s ordered concerning it in the matter of the work of its lifting? Whence was it taken from townsfarend amidst the greenbladed verdigrasses grickling? Eerie whig’s a bit of a torytale to tell. Bloomintales a but of a threestorey sell. Aye, you can ask your ass if he believes it, or butter still, asp the Once-ler to ear-- he knows. It correctly identifies the style – nice! I would expect that to be fairly obvious to a human, but I am impressed that it can be identified mechanically. I would love to take a look at that algorithm. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/68 "2010-07-17T03:59:00Z")
I write like Dan Brown? ---
**Author:** ![yams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/848f3c/32.png) [@yams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yams)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/69 "2010-07-17T04:35:49Z")
Anybody else get Wodehouse? love yams!! ---
**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 17, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/70 "2010-07-17T05:07:44Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > Yes, we’ll all keep that in mind. Well, I wouldn’t want to disappoint anyone. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Rala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rala)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/71 "2010-07-17T13:18:29Z")
I write like Vladimir Nabokov! Awesome! And David Foster Wallace. I’d never heard of him until this thread. David Foster Wallace again. And again! Who is this guy? Og damn it, I’m going to keep doing this until one piece resembles a different author. (No offence, David Foster Wallace, I’m sure you’re a nice guy.) Dan Brown? No! James Joyce. I feel a little better. Douglas Adams. Woohoo! (Though I really don’t see it, particularly with this story.) ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/72 "2010-07-17T14:34:39Z")
Maybe this IWL site is just designed to boost the sales of David Foster Wallace’s books. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/73 "2010-07-18T05:42:39Z")
I’ve been posting snippets from my remarks to the board over the last few years and found out I write like: H.P. Lovecraft Kurt Vonnegut Charles Dickens James Joyce David Foster Wallace It’s clear that I’ve been wasting my talents around here. Anybody wanna be my agent? Or with talent like this, do I even need one? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/74 "2010-07-18T07:12:01Z")
From my investigations, it seems that **David Foster Wallace** also was a stylistic influence on Title III, Subtitle A of H.R. 3162. (The Patriot Act) ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/75 "2010-07-18T20:33:58Z")
Evidently, I write like Cory Doctorow. Q: Who the hell IS Cory Doctorow…? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/76 "2010-07-18T20:59:27Z")
Choosing only fiction I’ve written, I’ve gotten: Cory Doctorow. (Twice) George Orwell. (Oddly, I was attempting to ape Lovecraft with that one.) James Fenimore Cooper. Oh goddess, I don’t want to admit this…Stephanie Meyer. :eek: TWICE! David Foster Wallace. Lewis Carroll. (Rock!) JRR Tolkien. I wish it would actually tell you what elements you compare to them on - sentence structure? Word choice? ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/77 "2010-07-18T21:36:13Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Evidently, I write like Cory Doctorow. As do I. > [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Q: Who the hell IS Cory Doctorow…? I, too, would like to know. ---
**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 18, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/78 "2010-07-18T22:11:17Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Evidently, I write like Cory Doctorow. > > Q: Who the hell IS Cory Doctorow…? [Cory Doctorow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_doctorow) writes science fiction, and has some notoriety regarding copyright law. He has ultimate cool cred, since there is an [XKCD cartoon](http://xkcd.com/239/) about him. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/79 "2010-07-19T02:25:02Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > [Cory Doctorow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_doctorow) writes science fiction, and has some notoriety regarding copyright law. He has ultimate cool cred, since there is an [XKCD cartoon](http://xkcd.com/239/) about him. Huh. So, I should write that trilogy on the origins of the race called Og then? An energy-based form of life that feeds off the energy released by the thoughts of sentient carbon-based life? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828/80 "2010-07-19T03:11:05Z")
Clearly David Foster Wallace’s style is to write like a blogger. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-allegedly-write-like/546828.md?page=5)