Snippets
July 26th, 2010 by Kathleen Bolton
Newsy tidbits for writers from around the ‘nets.
Am I the only one who hasn’t yet heard of the viral website I Write Like . . . ? If you are like me, one of the last to know, I Write Like analyzes a sample of your writing and determines which famous writer you most write like. It’s FASCINATING. Apparently, I write like Stephen King sometimes, and then other times I write like James Joyce. I Write Like also has its own blog, which is full of writerly tidbits. Which writer do you write like?
From our mailbox, we got a note from Sarah Sypniewski about a new online writing school:
“Hey there Kathleen and Therese,
I’m helping to get the word out about a new online writing school. Might be of interest to your followers…What’s cool is that the classes are a little grittier than most traditionalschools…we offer things like rock and roll writing, sex writing, etc…in addition to the traditional stuff…And for your own benefit, our Facebook page and Twitter feed has weird daily writing prompts. We have a lot of fun watching what people come up with…feel free to join in on the fun!”
The Basement Writing Workshop boasts an impressive staff of writers, a collaborative philosophy, and a willingness to let writers explore alternative genres. If you are looking for an edgy alternative to online writing courses, the Basement Writing Workshop could be for you.
As always, change, when it comes, comes fast. Just a few years ago we were wondering if the digital revolution in publishing was a fad or here to stay. Welp, it seems like e-books are definitely here to stay, according to the NYTs:
Amazon.com, one of the nation’s largest booksellers, announced that for the last three months, sales of books for its e-reader, the Kindle, outnumbered sales of hardcover books.
In that time, Amazon said, it sold 143 Kindle books for every 100 hardcover books, including hardcovers for which there is no Kindle edition.
The pace of change is quickening, too, Amazon said. In the last four weeks sales rose to 180 digital books for every 100 hardcover copies. Amazon has 630,000 Kindle books, a small fraction of the millions of books sold on the site.
The NYTs also links to a 2009 article debating whether reading books digitally is good or bad for the brain.
The digital marketplace is opening up more opportunities for entrepreneures like agents and indie publishers. Could these changes finally swing power back to the author?
Digital rights are rising in significance as e-books make up a growing percentage of the book market, and publishers have struggled to capture the rights to produce digital versions of their backlist books. But agents and authors have said for months that the digital royalty rate offered by most traditional publishers is far too low.
Like many readers, I treasure my books like old friends, and I’m a little sad about this transition. But I got used to digital downloads for music instead of CDs, I’m sure I’ll get used to digital books too. Sniff.
Write on, peeps.
Thanks for the updates, Kath. I visited I Write Like. They said Last Will was like Isaac Asimov, but my wip is like Stephanie Meyer.
I have to think about that for a while! :-)
I write like James Joyce, too! Apparently. :) Thanks for the updates, Kath!
Haha, I Write Like is taking the net by storm. However, I doubt its current credibility. One person put the same excerpt in 3 times and got 3 different (dissimilar) answers. They’re adding more authors though, so I imagine it will get more “accurate” as time goes on.
And hey, it’s still fun. :)
I Write Like is fun…but also very weird :O
How in the world have I not heard of this ‘I Write Like…’ site before? I’m curious now … off to check it out!
I apparently write like Stephen King, as did just about all my friends that took the test; I seriously doubt that it’s accurate.
I kept putting in sections from the same book and came up with (in order): HG Wells, Anne Rice, Isaac Asimov, JRR Tolkien, and William Shakespeare. I thought I’d quit after the last one and rest on my laurels :)
Sarah Woodbury´s last blog ..Annwn- the Welsh Underworld
my writing like came up as RAY BRADBURY!!! what a compliment!! wow
and my other ms. clip came up as Margaret Mitchell! what does this all mean???????????
I’m with Kristan — as much as I’d like to think that I write like these fabulous authors, I don’t think there’s any real “analyzing” going on. Personally, I think it’s a randomizer that gives false hopes to writers who just may not be that good. :( Still, it’s a fun parlor game.
Shelli´s last blog ..Boy Meets Girl
Yahoo! I write like Margaret Atwood! I’ll TAKE it–False hopes and all!
Margaret Atwood doesn’t write like Margaret Atwood according to this website. She inserted some of her own work and didn’t get her own name as an answer.
I inserted Mark Twain, and he proved to write like Mark Twain.
The site appears to concentrate more on vocabulary than style to make the comparison so I wouldn’t take its results seriously. I doubt even a much more complex bit of software could analyze style with any degree of success.
That’s hilarious!
Don’t worry, Marilynn, I don’t take myself THAT seriously. Just a little fun and games. ; )
And as for the digital books–I never loved a CD case like I love my books. For me, the texture of a book in my hands is part of the reading experience, the dog-eared favorite pages, the bloody smashed mosquito on page 97 . . .
It was easy to switch to an iPod. Not so with these Kindle-y-Nook thingies. In fact, I don’t think I’ll ever switch over.
Depending on the “snippet” of writing, you write like….
Fads come and go, even in writing!
Patricia
http://pmpoetwriter.blogspot.com/
P-A-McGoldrick´s last blog ..VERSATILE BLOGGER AWARD!
I write like James Joyce and Stephanie Meyer. Just one question: how come my bank balance doesn’t reflect this? ;-)
[...] little snippet today on the Basement Writing Workshop on the Writer Unboxed blog. So incredibly pleased to have [...]
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Basement Writing and Basement Writing, Todd Rutherford. Todd Rutherford said: Snippets http://bit.ly/9MnU7Q [...]
I cannot underline passages nor write notes, definitions, comments, or work up a critical analysis within the margins of an e-reader. For me, that is half the fun of owning a paper copy of a good book. Oh the joy of reading and rereading one’s favorite books untill the pages literally fall from the binding like ripened fruit to nourish the soul.
I wrote about I Write Like at my blog last week after a friend told me about it. The link is below. It’s nothing but a toy, but it can be strangely compelling and take up a lot of time.
I Write Like
http://catsignal.com/2010/07/19/pen-to-paper-i-write-like/
bryon´s last blog ..Quotable 12