You write like a girl

Posted on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010, at 2:48 pm
Tags:Writing

Apparently I write like Margaret Atwood. Here’s my proof:

It’s kind of peculiar. Not that I don’t like Margaret Atwood (though of her novels I’ve only read The Handmaid’s Tale), but… Well, it just seems like all of these “what is your writing style” tests, based on my blog entries or on my stories, guess that my writing is by a woman. And there are several tests out there (most of them rather dubious, of course) that purport to guess your gender based on a series of questions that you answer; and almost all of these quizzes guess that I’m a woman. This is weird because I’ve frequently been told that when I try to write from a woman’s point of view, I just don’t succeed.

I wonder if this is something I should explore more, or some weirdness I should just chalk up to the Internet?

Edit: Keffy Kehrli Tweeted to me: “I’ll see your gender binary and raise you one James Tiptree.” Touche, Keffy. Touche.

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6 Responses to “You write like a girl”

1. SarahG says:

   July 13, 2010 at 16:32

   What gets me is that, so far, almost all the writers they’ve cited are male. You’ve made a rare accomplishment; not even Margaret Atwood scored as Margaret Atwood.

   Maybe you’re writing from a woman’s point of view, but it’s a lesbian.

   Me, I keep getting Chuck Palahniuk and Dan Brown… and I’ve never read either.

   Reply
2. Maren says:

   July 13, 2010 at 17:22

   Eh. I put in three short stories and a blog entry and got four different authors (one of them Atwood). So either I’ve got multiple personalities or I’m 75% dude. Or these kinds of tests are silly.

   Reply
   • admin says:

     July 13, 2010 at 18:56

     I vote silly.

     Reply
3. BonnieRS says:

   July 13, 2010 at 17:45

   And apparently when Margaret Atwood entered her prose sample, she was told she writes like Stephen King.

   I guess all it means is that we all write :p

   Reply
4. John W. Oliver says:

   August 13, 2010 at 13:07

   Some friends and I have done a lot of sampling with this engine, and I would take whatever it says with a large spoonful of salt. It’s fun to see what it says, but don’t let it be a measure of your actual ability.

   Reply
   • Richard Crawford says:

     August 13, 2010 at 13:19

     Yeah. It also told me that I write like David Foster Wallace and like Stephen King. And as I recall it told Margaret Atwood herself that she writes like Stephen King. So… Yeah. A full cellar full of salt.

     Reply