Comments on OnFiction: Research Bulletin: The Writer’s Fingerprint

This is indeed an interesting phenomenon, and one ...

2009-12-29T15:26:32.365-05:00

This is indeed an interesting phenomenon, and one that I've encountered myself. It can be a useful tool, keeping in mind the ideal writer for a certain style (e.g., Hemingway for e-mails, for example). In many ways reading involves inhabiting the mind of the author, temporarily, and we can then "use" this mind in our own writing.

"...leading the researchers to conclude that ...

2009-12-21T02:50:09.188-05:00

"...leading the researchers to conclude that whenever writers create a work they are pulling from a hypothetical “meta-book,” that encompasses their style."

Interestingly enough, I find that while I have a relatively stable style of writing consistent across most genres or formats (except for some, including technical papers, instant messages, etc.) it often changes in response to the sort of material I read prior to writing.

For instance, this morning I woke up and read Samuel Johnson for 30 minutes. Then I proceeded to write a few emails, which all had to be edited several times for being too long-winded.

Drawing from cognitive science, I think this has a lot to do with the 'priming effect'. Reading a particular word, phrase, or author's voice activates certain pathways in the brain, which, in turn, influences the way in which our writing is styled.

Interesting question Carolyn. My guess is that the...

2009-12-17T21:39:38.678-05:00

Interesting question Carolyn. My guess is that the authors of this study would hypothesis that this is indeed the case: one's writing fingerprint is present no matter what one is writing. However, whether this bears out empirically remains to be seen.

Very interesting article! It would be interesting ...

2009-12-17T10:26:23.035-05:00

Very interesting article! It would be interesting to study authors who write in multiple genres to find out of the fingerprint remains the same across stories calling for a different style.