"A word after a word after a word is power" - Margaret Atwood

BRIDGET WHELAN

A blog for readers and writers

A blog about the stories we tell each other and how we tell them...

Sunday 19 September 2010

For writers who should know better...

I should have known. I should have resisted temptation.
But when I came across a website that promised to analyse writing and compare it to the work of the greats well, I just had to have a go. It was easy: paste and click.
I've been working on my second novel all summer. I averaged eight hours a day when I was on retreat in Suffolk and took it on holiday, getting up at 7 am to get in a few hours before the real day began. I've lived it, I breathed it and I've nearly finished the third - but not necessarily final - draft.
I pasted in the first few paragraphs. It's a stark, gritty opening describing the story's central event that touches and torments the lives of three families.
Paste. click. The answer popped up.
DAN BROWN
Serves me right. But I couldn't leave it there...I hate The Da Vinci Code with a passion.
I pasted in the next three paragraphs. This is where the story gets moving at a wedding in a small Irish town.
Paste. Click.
OSCAR WILDE
Brown and Wilde...it's gotta to be a winner, hasn't it?
If you are tempted to have a go, click on the tile of this post. I'd love to hear how you get on.

4 comments:

Miriam said...

I have just randomly put in three bits from three different stories and got Rudyard Kipling, Jane Austen and then Dan Brown. I'm tempted to keep going, but am not sure I can take any more Dan Brown accusations.

BRIDGET said...

But it has cheered me up enormously to know that you got Dan Brown as well...

BRIDGET said...

Just tried the opening paragraph of Bleak House -- the fog was at it's thickest etc etc
Came back as James Joyce. I think that's probably quite a good answer.

Bhaswati said...

That does sound like a potent combination. Looks like you have a winner in your hands. :)