Wednesday 28 July 2010

I write like...

I never really thought about my writing style. Actually, I never really thought I had one. In school I was always better in science than in literature; mathematics has been my favorite subject, while every attempt to produce an interesting essay was a disaster. That is why many of my relatives found it extremely surprising that I started managing my own blog dedicated not only to reading but to writing. And writing for me is now a passion almost as strong as reading. After finishing a novel I just can't wait to pour my thoughts in my blog while they are fresh. The results are not always admirable but I believe that practice makes perfect so I keep struggling. 

While browsing through other literary blogs I found an interesting website, which analyses your writing style and compares it to an existing author. In http://iwl.me/ you can paste any writing you have done - an essay, a blog post, memoirs, basically whatever you feel like it. To be honest, I tried many times because I was never satisfied with the answer as I kept getting authors I hadn't heard. One time I got George Orwell and another time I got Jane Austen. However, the posts I pasted for these results were related to 1984 and Pride and Prejudice respectively. Which, of course, does prove that http://iwl.me/ is not a powerful analyzing tool but at least it is fun. 

Finally, after trying almost all of my posts I found a trend. Several times the result was H.P. Lovecraft. I didn't know who that was or what he was writing about but since I was copying his style unintentionally, I decided to check him out. I was shocked by the result:

Howard Philips Lovecraft, born in 1890, is an American horror, fantasy, and science fiction writer. His guiding literary principle, cosmic horror refers to the idea that life is incomprehensible to the human mind and the universe is fundamentally alien. Regarded as one of the best horror authors, Lovecraft focuses on themes such as forbidden knowledge, fate, inherited guilt, and civilization under threat.

Okay, the least I can say about this result is that it is largely weird. First and foremost, I do not enjoy horror and fantasy novels. To be honest, I believe the only horror and fantasy novel I have read remains Harry Potter, which is may be scary for a 10 year old. Secondly, his principle, cosmic horror, doesn't match my believes or perceptions in any way. Indeed I insist that life is comprehensible through two routes - knowledge and experience. Finally, the themes he focuses on are fundamentally important but still, they are quite common to many authors. 

As I mentioned, the tool analyzes the themes in your post and the language used. Maybe on some level Lovecraft and I use a common set of words or tend to express our ideas in a similar way. Still, I do not believe I will be reading any of his novels. The only thing I quite enjoy about him is his name. :)

5 comments:

  1. I would thou wert so happy by thy stay to hear true shrift madam. Thy website compared my writing style to William Shakespear!, I cannot see why lol. Dost thou not laugh ?

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  2. Haha Laure, Lovecraft rocks ;) Zaduljitelno procheti razkaza The Call of Chthulhu, toi e klasika v janra (nishto, che ne si padash po horror/uncanny fiction, nai-malkoto za baza za sravnenie - toi naistina donqkude e pioneer v tozi vid fiction (narichat go daje a literary Copernicus) i e bil HUGE influence na mnogo pisateli (i musicians) - nqma nishto obshto s stereotipniq fantasy janr i e mnogo svurzan s nqkoi modernist literary approaches po-kusno). No da, ne mislq, che saitut pravi mnogo tochni analizi - ne mislq, che pishesh v negoviq stil at all (i tova ne go kazvam s losho, naprotiv, negoviqt stil e mnogo stranen i dense, daleche ot razgovorniq stil podhodqsht za blog). My advice - http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Call_of_Cthulhu xxx

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  3. Ooo, blagodaria ti mnogo za cennia komentar. Az naistina ne go biah chuvala predi i po opisanieto v wikipedia ne biah mnogo vpechatlena. Sega obache kato kazvash iavno naistina e cenen avtor i opredelno shte procheta vuprosnia razkaz. Moje puk naistina da otkria niakakvo shodstvo, znae li 4ovek

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