# What Kind of Writer are You?



## Steerpike

Kind of a fun, if a bit silly, quiz at the Oxford Dictionaries web site:

What kind of writer are you? | OxfordWords blog

I'm an "Ernest Hemingway."


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## CupofJoe

> You’re a *Vladimir Nabokov*. You chose esoteric and technical words  that would drive most readers straight to their nearest dictionary.  Other novelists known for their use of obscure or difficult language are  Thomas Pynchon and Zadie Smith. A career in academia or science writing  might suit your tastes.


Opps! Perhaps a little too close to the truth... but I work in a University so perhaps its rubbing off on me...


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## Steerpike

CupofJoe said:


> Opps! Perhaps a little too close to the truth...



Nabokov is one of my favorites, so good for you


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## Anders Ã„mting

I object. The options are too limited. My favourite word for the place where a person lives is _lair_, thank you very much.

Also, it doesn't consider the variations in your answers, just which alternative got the highest percentage in the end.


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## Butterfly

Mmmm.....

You’re a William Faulkner. You chose flowery and formal words commonly used by literary novelists and poets. Other writers known for florid diction are F. Scott Fitzgerald, George Eliot, and Edgar Allan Poe. You dream of Nobel Prizes and National Book Awards every night.

er... no, I don't dream of those sorts of things...


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## Ireth

You’re an Ernest Hemingway. You chose clear and unflashy words that get right to the point. Other writers known for this style are George Orwell and Raymond Carver. Try your hand at a six-word memoir, consider a career in journalism, and maintain an active Twitter account.

Alrighty then.


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## Chime85

Steerpike said:


> Kind of a fun, if a bit silly, quiz at the Oxford Dictionaries web site:
> 
> What kind of writer are you? | OxfordWords blog
> 
> I'm an "Ernest Hemingway."



Snap, I ended up with him as well lol


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## yachtcaptcolby

You’re a Toni Morrison. You chose informal or slang words that indicate a preference for writing in the vernacular. Other novelists known for their informal prose are Mark Twain, Zora Neale Hurston, Harper Lee, and J.D. Salinger. If novel writing isn’t your cup of tea, dabble in some blogging or draft a dialogue-heavy script for film or television.

Yeah, that sounds about right.


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## Penpilot

yachtcaptcolby said:


> You’re a Toni Morrison. You chose informal or slang words that indicate a preference for writing in the vernacular. Other novelists known for their informal prose are Mark Twain, Zora Neale Hurston, Harper Lee, and J.D. Salinger. If novel writing isn’t your cup of tea, dabble in some blogging or draft a dialogue-heavy script for film or television.



This is what it tells me too. Shrug...


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## ArelEndan

> You’re a William Faulkner. You chose flowery and formal words commonly used by literary novelists and poets. Other writers known for florid diction are F. Scott Fitzgerald, George Eliot, and Edgar Allan Poe. You dream of Nobel Prizes and National Book Awards every night.



Other than the fact that I dislike reading Faulkner, I have to agree with the assessment. However, I don't dream about awards _every_ night.


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## Devor

Toni Morrison because I prefer slang and vernacular?  I call bad test.


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## SlimShady

Ernest Hemingway.  Don't really like the quiz though, too limited in options.


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## Lorna

> You’re a Vladimir Nabokov. You chose esoteric and technical words that would drive most readers straight to their nearest dictionary. Other novelists known for their use of obscure or difficult language are Thomas Pynchon and Zadie Smith. A career in academia or science writing might suit your tastes.



Bang on. I screwed up my novel and am gagging to go back to university. Will somebody in academia take pity on me and give me a grant. Please...


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## Benjamin Clayborne

I'm also Hemingway, apparently.

Part of the problem is that a lot of the word choices have different connotations based on circumstances, but the most generally useful one is the "plain" (choice C) word that leads you to be Hemingway. I might have used any of those words in certain contexts, but when asked "which one would you use" I'm generally going to pick simple.

Also, I'm not an alcoholic or suicidal.


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## Reaver

Benjamin Clayborne said:


> Also, I'm not an alcoholic or suicidal.




You are, however, an android.


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## morfiction

I'm not taking tests. 

I'll answer the question honestly. I write "blue" material because that's often where my imagination takes me. I don't wish to offend people with certain sensibilities. I pretty much let the story write itself as it wants and I'm a conduit from which it hits the screen or paper. Preferably it goes on the screen and is later printed on paper! 

I have no tricks to trick my characters into doing things so I can write about them. It comes with a good degree of trust. I am trusted to be honest in how I convey what they do AND I to an extent operate "without a net." 

If you find it odd I am talking about fictional people as if they were real, then... feel free. I'm not prescribing this irrationality!


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## Ameronis

I got Hemingway as well. 
Though I agree that the test is a bit limited, with there always being an option that was extremely common, and another that only three people know the meaning of.


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## Butterfly

mmmm.... It appears that the test has a database of a massive total of 4 writer styles listed.


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## CupofJoe

Butterfly said:


> mmmm.... It appears that the test has a database of a massive total of 4 writer styles listed.


I thought there were only two writing styles... the ones you liked and the ones you don't?


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## Steerpike

CupofJoe said:


> I thought there were only two writing styles... the ones you liked and the ones you don't?



The styles are:

1. The ones you like, but are wrong to like (as determined by me);
2. The ones you like and are right to like;
3. The ones you dislike, but are wrong to dislike; and
4. The ones you dislike and are right to dislike.

the simplified version of the list is as follows:

1. The ones Steerpike likes; and
2. The ones Steepike dislikes.


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## Rikilamaro

You’re a Vladimir Nabokov. You chose esoteric and technical words that would drive most readers straight to their nearest dictionary. Other novelists known for their use of obscure or difficult language are Thomas Pynchon and Zadie Smith. A career in academia or science writing might suit your tastes.

Just call me Vlad... but I'm not much of an Impaler. And I don't think I'm over the top with my scientific descriptions.

I suppose I choose more scientific words because of the life I lead. I want to educate my readers, and make them think.


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## Steerpike

You can do worse than being Nabokov. The guy was a brilliant writer, and _Lolita_ is one of the best pieces of fiction


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## Rikilamaro

So that falls under the writing styles that Steerpike likes and I win?


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## Steerpike

Rikilamaro said:


> So that falls under the writing styles that Steerpike likes and I win?



You get a ... well, we don't have a :cookie: icon, so how do you feel about either  or ?


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## Rikilamaro

So I get a bovine or a fowl? 

Yeah, me.


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## Steerpike

Rikilamaro said:


> So I get a bovine or a fowl?
> 
> Yeah, me.





Well, I was thinking along the lines of a cookie being edible, and so the cow represents, perhaps, some Gates BBQ brisket, whereas the fowl might represent tandoori chicken or something.


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## Rikilamaro

Steerpike said:


> Well, I was thinking along the lines of a cookie being edible, and so the cow represents, perhaps, some Gates BBQ brisket, whereas the fowl might represent tandoori chicken or something.



Well I' much rather have Arthur Bryant's. I'll stick with the


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## Steerpike

Rikilamaro said:


> Well I' much rather have Arthur Bryant's.



Kill the heretic!! :Mad:


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## Caged Maiden

HAHAHAH 

Okay so I'm hemingway also,big surprise?

But I stuck around and took this quiz: How Shakespearean are you? | OxfordWords blog

and got this answer: 
Your English is 84 percent Shakespearean. 
The waters of the Avon almost lap at your feet.

SO overall, not a bad day.  I like these sorts of quizzes.  They make me smile and break up a boring day.  Thanks for posting.


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## Aravelle

Butterfly said:


> Mmmm.....
> 
> You’re a William Faulkner. You chose flowery and formal words commonly used by literary novelists and poets. Other writers known for florid diction are F. Scott Fitzgerald, George Eliot, and Edgar Allan Poe. You dream of Nobel Prizes and National Book Awards every night.
> 
> er... no, I don't dream of those sorts of things...



I'm a William Faulkner too!
I too, do not dream of those things... not saying I'd be opposed to winning any awards though. >.>


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## Motley

I was a Toni Morrison, but I have huge issues with this quiz. Most of the words offered I would use equally, depending on the style and mood of the piece of writing.

I might call a moldy castle basement noisome and a school gym locker funky. You can't pick one word to use for one meaning all the time.


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## Sparkie

Me?  Faulkner?  Nah.


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## ChantyLace

You’re an Ernest Hemingway. You chose clear and unflashy words that get right to the point. Other writers known for this style are George Orwell and Raymond Carver. Try your hand at a six-word memoir, consider a career in journalism, and maintain an active Twitter account.

Seem's true in the sense that that is how I write, but I'm not a fan of journalism, nor Twitter! Uhoh.


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## Feo Takahari

Which of these synonyms would you choose to describe the act of sexual intercourse?

A) Copulation

B) Nookie

C) Sex

D) Coition

Well, the last time I mentioned it, I called it "cattle-prodding the oyster ditch with the lab rocket" . . .

(I consider myself a punk writer, so I mostly answered C.)


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## Clarence Matthews

Ernest hemingway


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## Weaver

Gah.  It said I'm _Ernest Hemingway_.  So I should try writing  a six-word memoir (hate them), Tweet a lot (yeah, right), and consider a career in journalism (after spending a few years helping my clone-sibling _get over _his 'just the facts' style acquired from technical writing)...? *sigh*  Nope.  Don't think so.


I'm with Motley:  The word used depends on where it's used.  Lacking context, of course I chose the 'neutral' word in each instance.  That doesn't mean I'd always or even usually go with that choice in my fiction.


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## CTStanley

Ernest Hemingway too...


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## Jess A

Ernest Hemingway. Journalism...no surprises there 

I still don't understand how Twitter works, though ...


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## Leif Notae

Hemingway as well. Interesting.

I do know how twitter works, and I did start out in journalism... Hmmm...


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