I found out about a website that analyzes a piece of your writing and tells you which famous writer you write like:
I’m pretty sure it’s just some program like most of those applications on Facebook where you answer some questions and they tell you which Harry Potter character you are. But anyway, I decided to try it out and copy-pasted a lot of my blog entries just to see who pops up. So expectedly, each blog entry came up with different writers. I got diverse writers like pop puzzle-meister Dan Brown, horror masters Stephen King and H. P. Lovecraft, Blogger Cory Doctorow, “Fight Club” writer Chuck Palahniuk, and even early Irish writer James Joyce (whose writing gave me headaches when I had to read them when I was still an English Literature major. So I decided to input more blog entries until I got multiple appearances from a single writer. Eventually, one writer kept popping up:
David Foster Wallace
I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!
I had no idea who this writer is, so I decided to google him. David Foster Wallace’s defining work was his 1996 novel “Infinite Jest”, which Time Magazine included in its All-Time 100 Greatest Novels list. Dogs played a major role in his life, and he often spoke of opening a dog shelter. Unfortunately, he suffered from depression most of his life, often depending on anti-depressants to keep his head above the water, and fueling his productivity. The turning point was when he suffered side effects from his anti-depressants which his doctors ordered him to stop. Without the medication, his depression came back with a vengeance. And when he re-started taking his medication, it stopped working. His depression got so bad, that in September 12, 2008, he took his own life by hanging himself.
Hmmm…an often depressed dog lover who dreams of opening an animal shelter someday…sounds familiar? I don’t like where this is going. So I focused instead on the theme that popped up the most. Turns out, I had 3 fantasy/horror writers on my list – 2 revered, Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft, and 1 reviled, Stephenie Meyer. So maybe I can start my own horror franchise? I can see it now…a series of books on midget vampires, who are way too short to bite anyone’s neck, so they need to find a steady blood supply, but only from the waist down. Oh yeah right there! I smell a hit…
