Which Fantasy Writer Am I?--Whisky Tango Foxtrot Edition

[daidoji_gisei]

I learned about an online quiz for "Which Fantasy Writer am I?" thanks to yhlee and since I rarely pass up the opportunity to take a silly internet quiz I of course rushed over to take it myself. Now, I have realistic expectations regarding silly internet quizzes but after getting the results on this one I had a severe moment of !!!.

To be clear, I have NO objections at all to being compared to Ursula K LeGuin. She rocks as a writer, and I even borrowed a title from her once. And I can't quibble over being being very slightly High-Brow, given that I have indeed read the Divine Comedy in the bathtub. Traditional and Cynical? Nailed me there.

But--PEACEFUL? I am a PEACEFUL writer?

I'll be the first to say that my reputation in the L5R community is overblown--I don't kill more characters than anyone else on the Story Team. Well, ok, maybe more than rpriske. But I am at a loss to see how my current body of work could ever be described as the work of a 'peaceful' writer.

For the full results,

Your result for Which fantasy writer are you?...

Ursula K Le Guin (b. 1929)

1 High-Brow, -7 Violent, -15 Experimental and 21 Cynical!

Congratulations! You are High-Brow, Peaceful, Traditional and Cynical! These concepts are defined below.

Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is definitely one of the most celebrated science fiction and fantasy writers of all times. Her most famous fantasy work to date is the Earthsea suite of novels and short stories, in which Le Guin created not only one of the most believable societies in fantasy fiction, but also managed to describe a school for wizards almost three decades before Harry Potter. Although often categorized as written for young adults, these books have entertained and challenged readers of all ages since their publication.

Le Guin is no stranger to literary experiments (see for example Always Coming Home(1985)), but much of her story-telling is quite traditional. In fact, she makes a point of returning to older forms of story-telling, which, at her best, enables her to create something akin to myth. One shouldn't confuse myth with faerytale, though. Nothing is ever simplified in Le Guin's world, as she relentlessly explores ethical problems and the moral choices that her characters must make, as must we all. While being one of those writers who will allow you to escape to imaginary worlds, she is also one who will prompt you to return to your actual life, perhaps a little wiser than you used to be.

You are also a lot like Susan Cooper.

If you want some action, try Michael Moorcock.

If you'd like a challenge, try your exact opposite, C S Lewis.

Your score

This is how to interpret your score: Your attitudes have been measured on four different scales, called 1) High-Brow vs. Low-Brow, 2) Violent vs. Peaceful, 3) Experimental vs. Traditional and 4) Cynical vs. Romantic. Imagine that when you were born, you were in a state of innocence, a tabula rasa who would have scored zero on each scale. Since then, a number of circumstances (including genetical, cultural and environmental factors) have pushed you towards either end of these scales. If you're at 45 or -45 you would be almost entirely cynical, low-brow or whatever. The closer to zero you are, the less extreme your attitude. However, you should always be more of either (eg more romantic than cynical). Please note that even though High-Brow, Violent, Experimental and Cynical have positive numbers (1 through 45) and their opposites negative numbers (-1 through -45), this doesn't mean that either quality is better. All attitudes have their positive and negative sides, as explained below.

High-Brow vs. Low-Brow

You received 1 points, making you more High-Brow than Low-Brow. Being high-browed in this context refers to being more fascinated with the sort of art that critics and scholars tend to favour, rather than the best-selling kind. At their best, high-brows are cultured, able to appreciate the finer nuances of literature and not content with simplifications. At their worst they are, well, snobs.

Violent vs. Peaceful

You received -7 points, making you more Peaceful than Violent. This scale is a measurement of a) if you are tolerant to violence in fiction and b) whether you see violence as a means that can be used to achieve a good end. If you aren't, and you don't, then you are peaceful as defined here. At their best, peaceful people are the ones who encourage dialogue and understanding as a means of solving conflicts. At their worst, they are standing passively by as they or third parties are hurt by less scrupulous individuals.

Experimental vs. Traditional

You received -15 points, making you more Traditional than Experimental. Your position on this scale indicates if you're more likely to seek out the new and unexpected or if you are more comfortable with the familiar, especially in regards to culture. Note that traditional as defined here does not equal conservative, in the political sense. At their best, traditional people don't change winning concepts, favouring storytelling over empty poses. At their worst, they are somewhat narrow-minded.

Cynical vs. Romantic

You received 21 points, making you more Cynical than Romantic. Your position on this scale indicates if you are more likely to be wary, suspicious and skeptical to people around you and the world at large, or if you are more likely to believe in grand schemes, happy endings and the basic goodness of humankind. It is by far the most vaguely defined scale, which is why you'll find the sentence "you are also a lot like x" above. If you feel that your position on this scale is wrong, then you are probably more like author x. At their best, cynical people are able to see through lies and spot crucial flaws in plans and schemes. At their worst, they are overly negative, bringing everybody else down.

Author picture from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UrsulaLeGuin.01.jpg

Take Which fantasy writer are you? at HelloQuizzy

Comments

[yhlee.livejournal.com]

As you know, Gisei-Bob, we got the exact same result, and yeah--I respect Le Guin's work a lot. Certainly in terms of my ego, if someone wanted to compare my work to hers, I wouldn't object. But I don't think it would be very accurate. The "nonviolent" rating was the one that stood out the most for me as well as being ???.

[daidoji-gisei.livejournal.com]

Thinking back over the quiz, I think the quiz-writer confuses the writer's beliefs with the characters' beliefs. I'm not a huge fan of violence as a problem-solver in real life (though I love me a good (fictional) sword-fight). But as you know Maratai-Bob, I am currently writing for characters who do think that violence is a great way to solve problems, and I don't flinch from that. (Would I be a better person if I did? An interesting question. I think I would be a poorer L5R writer.)

[d-silverblade.livejournal.com]

You seem to be about right (another LeGuinn here, and I scored even more peaceful than you did). I'm not much for violent solution in reality, but writings? Hah.

For fun's sake, I went and tried to answer the obviously violence-related questions in a more violent sort of way, more as a "What would be likely in your story" type of things than "What would you be like in person". That got me China Mieville, somehow (he...was not necessarily the first name that came up for highly traditional scores).

Going to give it a third run, answering all questions from a "What would I write" perspective instead of a Real world one.

[ironhand.livejournal.com]

I appear to be David Eddings.

-5 High-Brow, 5 Violent, -1 Experimental and 9 Cynical!

[the-bumper-car.livejournal.com]

Well, Ms. LeGuin is made of awesome, so, yeah, I agree that she's not a bad comparison.

And if I recall her stories, a lot of people died in them - not to mention raped and had other horrible things done to them. The difference is, they had a point in the story, which is also something you do.

[d-silverblade.livejournal.com]

I could see that for LeGuin, I'm not really familiar with her work anyway.

But when you have Jordan as peaceful to Tolkien as violent, I'm going to play the "call the test creator's choices in question" card. All the more so when Team Oxford (Tolkien and Lewis) is depicted as low-brow, because they wrote for "the masses" (which they did not: the masses enjoyed their work, which is different).

[the-bumper-car.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think we can safely conclude that test was not made by a Lit or English major. XD

[rpriske.livejournal.com]

I got LeGuin as well.

13 High-Brow, -19 Violent, -1 Experimental and 5 Cynical

Apparently I am VERY anti-violent.

Who would have thought? :)

[the-bumper-car.livejournal.com]

The hordes of Nezumi you SLAUGHTERED (fine, banished to another dimension) would like to object to that. :P

[rpriske.livejournal.com]

Hey, I SAVED them! (Well, Faber helped...)

[the-bumper-car.livejournal.com]

But those Nezumi babies will never go to pre-school anymore! Or steal rice from the Crane! XD

[bayushi-shinoko.livejournal.com]

19 High-Brow, 15 Violent, 15 Experimental and 19 Cynical

Apparently, I'm a violent, skeptical snob that hates conformity. I had my doubts about the test, but when it comes to how I write (and read), it's shockingly spot-on.

[daidoji-gisei.livejournal.com]

I am crushed--I had convinced myself that you liked my fiction!

[bayushi-shinoko.livejournal.com]

Of course I do! We might be interpreting some of these labels differently?

[daidoji-gisei.livejournal.com]

I am very not an experimental writer!