What kind of Fiction should You write? 5.0! [Quiz game ]

[OokamiKasumi]

Hey I tried out your quiz because I was really curious about my own style/genre of writing. I think it got me mostly, but I'd like to hear your opinion too, if you don't mind. Your insight on the scores is very informative and detailed XD

Aww... You're so sweet!

Children's Lit 3
Action Adventure 2
Gothic 2
Historical 2

Drama 4
Characterization 3
Description 3

World Building Strong
Male Lead strong

Plotting Acceptable
Premise Acceptable
Female Lead Acceptable
Villain Acceptable
Novelty Acceptable

Scoring Children's Lit is normally strong on Drama and Characterization, but you scored only a 4 (out of 9) on Drama, and only a 3 on Characterization. This indicates that it's less of those and more that you have a tendency toward stories about Character growth.

Truthfully, you're scattered across the board. This seems to me like you're still deciding how you want to write, and what you really want to write about. You're still in the early stages of being a writer and haven't made any strong decisions on writing style, or even content -- yet.

Getting a low score on description is not surprising to me. It's always been a weakness of mine. But I'm quite surprised with world building, since most stories I've written so far are fanfiction, with pre-made worlds just ready for me to manipulate and such.

World-building isn't how successful you are at it, but how much effort you're willing to put into it, and with a Strong, you're willing to put in a Lot of effort. However, the rest of your scores are saying that you're just not Practiced at it -- yet.

I've been trying to build a world of my own but it's completely influenced by other books I've read so I don't feel as good with building worlds. I like writing stories that are a bit novel and not just some copy of someone else's work.

COPYING is the only way to learn any art -- including writing. The trick is to Change it enough that no one can recognize it. The truth is, EVERYONE borrows from everyone else. This includes me too, and I've been writing fiction for decades. Don't bother with trying to be Original. Go with what's right for your story. Originality is over-rated. Seriously.

Characterization is a bit confusing, given that I got Children's Lit and you mentioned before that Children's Lit focuses on a character's development.

Characterization is how strongly your characters act like Real people verses Characters of people. In other words, how much depth they have, and how much impact they have on your story -- and your readers. Character Development; the path the character walks to grow and change, is actually Plotting. Remember, in order for a character to grow, things have to happen to them to make them grow; the Plot has to happen to them.

Scoring a 4 on Drama means that you are willing to traumatize your characters to make them grow, but you haven't quite decided how much trauma, or what kind of trauma to put them through.
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Oh, I see! While I'm not big on descriptions, characterisation is very interesting to me (one of the most interesting things in the story, actually), so that does make sense. Gothic + Action/Adventure sounds cool! Like something that I'd love to try out.

I think you'd be quite good at it. However, just like any art, it takes practice to get good at anything, so give yourself some leeway to make some mistakes -- at first.

I have a question, though: How do you define 'disciplined' with regard to writing?

How much effort you put into following the rules of plotting, world-building, characterization, etc.

By the way, I need a better word than 'Acceptable'. That's actually a B-grade, not a C-grade. ... Any ideas?

How's Average? (Even though I dislike the word, it sounds a bit better than Acceptable.)

Average is what I used first. However, when Averages showed up in my assessments, I decided I LOATHED seeing that word. Average implies a C grade, not a B grade.
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By the way, I need a better word than 'Acceptable'. That's actually a B-grade, not a C-grade. ... Any ideas?

Do any of these work?
- Decent
- Competent
- Respectable
- Fair

Oh! I like Competent!
-- That implies Skill and effectiveness without going over the top.

However, I think Respectable fits better between Strong and Modest. Respectable it is!

Thank you so much!
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Do any of these work?
- Decent
- Competent
- Respectable
- Fair

Just my two cents, but I think respectable and decent work well.

I'm gonna go with Respectable. It fits very well between Strong and Modest.

Also I've tried ver. 4.0, it's impressive how each new version of this game is progressively better at reading me like an open book (no pun intended).

LOL! It doesn't hurt that reading the player as accurately as possible is exactly what I want this quiz to do!

If you don't know where you're actually weak, how can you fix it?
-- I'm firmly of the opinion that Flattery, or outright Lying --even little white lies-- are Bad for writers. At best, it can cause Complacency; acceptance of a lower skill level when you are capable of much greater work. (You wouldn't believe how often I've seen this.) At worst it can develop into Diva-ism; when someone thinks they're better than they really are. Someone afflicted with Diva-ism Won't improve, no matter how much advice they get because they think they're already better than everyone around them.
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This is useful with nanoremo coming up!

I got children's Lit.
Funny thing is, I had been entertaining the idea of writing a children's story for awhile, maybe I should finally get around to it.

I think Children's Lit would be an excellent fit for you.
-- The 2 in Comedy implies you like Happy endings, and the 2 in Historical plus the 4 in Drama means that your actually willing to do some research to make your characters fairly realistic in their Emotions; how they Feel. That the character types you like to use are Strong, and with Drama being your highest score, that shows that you have no problems making your character suffer which is needed for Character Growth -- the specialty of Children's Lit.

Keep in mind, you're also pretty scattered across the board. This means that you haven't quite decided how you really want to write just yet. So while Children's Lit may be a good fit Now, this doesn't mean you won't change and grow into a completely different style, or even prefer a different genre later.

The only thing that troubles me is that your Novelty is very high. This could pose a few problems with reaching your audience. Be careful not to go too far off the deep end with how you write it. If you get too obscure with the way you tell your story, your readers may only get confused.

[KimiYoriBaka]

these answers were really hard to choose. there were a bunch where I only partially agreed with any of the answers, and some where I really wanted to combine answers.

I got literature, but I'm sure exactly what that means as a genre.

[icebluehost]

Truthfully, you're scattered across the board. This seems to me like you're still deciding how you want to write, and what you really want to write about. You're still in the early stages of being a writer and haven't made any strong decisions on writing style, or even content -- yet.

Can't argue with that. I've got mixed feelings on all the genres. But I think another reason why it's all scattered across the board is because deep inside, I know that I'm trying to use a bit of everything in writing.

World-building isn't how successful you are at it, but how much effort you're willing to put into it, and with a Strong, you're willing to put in a Lot of effort. However, the rest of your scores are saying that you're just not Practiced at it -- yet.

Someday I'll work hard enough to become a JR Tolkien or a JK Rowling XD A girl can dream.

COPYING is the only way to learn any art -- including writing. The trick is to Change it enough that no one can recognize it. The truth is, EVERYONE borrows from everyone else. This includes me too, and I've been writing fiction for decades. Don't bother with trying to be Original. Go with what's right for your story. Originality is over-rated. Seriously.

I'll keep that in mind.

Characterization is how strongly your characters act like Real people verses Characters of people. In other words, how much depth they have, and how much impact they have on your story -- and your readers. Character Development; the path the character walks to grow and change, is actually Plotting. Remember, in order for a character to grow, things have to happen to them to make them grow; the Plot has to happen to them.

Scoring a 4 on Drama means that you are willing to traumatize your characters to make them grow, but you haven't quite decided how much trauma, or what kind of trauma to put them through.

I can see the difference now. What you say really makes sense. Unfortunately for me I don't like putting my characters in traumatic situations. I'm still not that comfortable in causing too much pain in my characters and I'm not really sure (or experienced enough to know) how trauma affects people or how people react to it. I'm a sheltered person and pain and suffering is very minimal in my life.

Some of what you mentioned I already know and already trying to improve on, but there are a lot of things that I haven't really considered or known about. This was a real eye-opener. Thanks for the insight on me and thank you so much for making this game <3 Maybe in another decade I'll take this quiz again just to see how much I've changed.

[OokamiKasumi]

these answers were really hard to choose.

Good! They were supposed to be hard to choose from. This is what gives the quiz accuracy. I didn't want people picking all the Gothic answers, or all the Sci-fi answers, when their strengths actually lay elsewhere.

there were a bunch where I only partially agreed with any of the answers, and some where I really wanted to combine answers. I got literature, but I'm [not?] sure exactly what that means as a genre.

Literature is how willing you are to bend or break the rules of genre fiction.
-- That you wanted to combine answers, and only partially agreed with answers shows that you don't want to follow any established writing style. You want to make your own style. In other words, you prefer Creative Writing -- and that's Literature.
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I've got mixed feelings on all the genres. But I think another reason why it's all scattered across the board is because deep inside, I know that I'm trying to use a bit of everything in writing.

That proves right there that you have yet to settle into an established writing style. As long as you Keep Writing, you'll eventually discover what suits you best.

World-building ... with a Strong, you're willing to put in a Lot of effort. However, the rest of your scores are saying that you're just not Practiced at it -- yet.

Someday I'll work hard enough to become a JR Tolkien or a JK Rowling XD A girl can dream.

You sure can!
-- By the way, both JRR Tolkien and JK Rowling are Milieu writers; they're wizards of World creation, even more so than Character creation. They make worlds you want to go to -- and stay there. Also, check out CJ Cherryh's work. She writes very detailed worlds.

...Scoring a 4 on Drama means that you are willing to traumatize your characters to make them grow, but you haven't quite decided how much trauma, or what kind of trauma to put them through.

... Unfortunately for me I don't like putting my characters in traumatic situations. I'm still not that comfortable in causing too much pain in my characters and I'm not really sure (or experienced enough to know) how trauma affects people or how people react to it. I'm a sheltered person and pain and suffering is very minimal in my life.

Count yourself Lucky that you haven't experienced trauma yet. Seriously.
-- You just need to do some research in Psychology, and read the stories written by victims of different kinds of trauma. (The Internet is your friend!) That should give you plenty to work with.

Some of what you mentioned I already know and already trying to improve on, but there are a lot of things that I haven't really considered or known about. This was a real eye-opener. Thanks for the insight on me and thank you so much for making this game <3 Maybe in another decade I'll take this quiz again just to see how much I've changed.

Writers DO grow and change as time passes.
-- I really do hope you get to be another JRR Tolkien or JK Rowling. They're two of my favorite authors.

[icebluehost]

Someday I'll work hard enough to become a JR Tolkien or a JK Rowling XD A girl can dream.

You sure can!
-- By the way, both JRR Tolkien and JK Rowling are Milieu writers; they're wizards of World creation, even more so than Character creation. They make worlds you want to go to -- and stay there. Also, check out CJ Cherryh's work. She writes very detailed worlds.

YES!! You have given me something new to read! My list of books to read has diminished of late. Thank you for the suggestion XD I shall keep an eye out for CJ Cherryh.

Writers DO grow and change as time passes.
-- I really do hope you get to be another JRR Tolkien or JK Rowling. They're two of my favorite authors.

If I do make it to their level somehow, I will make sure to acknowledge you in my book! XD XD

[OokamiKasumi]

...Also, check out CJ Cherryh's work. She writes very detailed worlds.

YES!! You have given me something new to read! My list of books to read has diminished of late. Thank you for the suggestion XD I shall keep an eye out for CJ Cherryh.

Also try:
Mercedes Lackey
Patricia McKillip
Guy Gavriel Kay
Frank Herbert - Dune

If I do make it to their level somehow, I will make sure to acknowledge you in my book! XD XD

I'll look forward to it!

[Nekobiker]

Very good quiz OokamiKasumi, I loved how nuanced the answers are. Some questions I had to think about for minutes before deciding what to click xD Here are the results I got, and I'd be very happy if you could comment:

Gothic - 5
Scifi and Action Adventure - 2
Fantasy, Mystery, Literature, Erotica, Suspence - 1
Romance, Horror, Comedy, Childrens Lit, Historical - 0

Drama - 6
Characterisation - 5
Description - 4
Novelty, Villain - Strong
Premise, Male Lead - Respectable
Plotting, World Building, Female Lead - Modest

I'm surprised I got points in Sci-Fi and Action Adventure because I don't even like those genres. But this quiz made me realise that reading and writing preferences can be unrelated. I never thought about it that way, so this is very interesting. I really don't know how I got a point in Erotica. The very thought of writing an erotic scene makes me embarrassed...

I'm also wondering about Male and Female lead. If I got a higher score on Male Lead, does it mean that I can write a better story with ML rather than FL, even if the plot and setting are the same?

[OokamiKasumi]

Very good quiz OokamiKasumi, I loved how nuanced the answers are. Some questions I had to think about for minutes before deciding what to click xD

In-depth research, and a touch of anal-retentiveness, will do that.
--The idea was to make the quiz Accurate enough to actually be useful.

Here are the results I got, and I'd be very happy if you could comment:

Isn't everyone? LOL!

I'm surprised I got points in Sci-Fi and Action Adventure because I don't even like those genres. But this quiz made me realise that reading and writing preferences can be unrelated. I never thought about it that way, so this is very interesting.

That's exactly right. What you read, and HOW you write are often unrelated; unless you've actually been writing in the genre for a while and have already learned how to write in that style.
-- What this quiz measures is the writer's technique and style, and scores by how closely their choices match that of an established genre style.

Gothic - 5
Scifi and Action Adventure - 2

Gothics are big on atmosphere, decorative --though not necessary detailed-- Description, and heavy Emotional Drama. Sci-Fi is Plot and Premise-driven, but weak on Characterization. Action-Adventure is big on larger than life characters and Action Drama.

Believe it or not, this is actually a very good combination if you want to write stories about characters discovering that they aren't as civilized, or as nice, as they --or anyone else-- thought they were, or even downwardly spiraling characters falling into despair, or even madness. Think: he stories by Edgar Allen Poe, or Phantom of the Opera, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

Drama - 6
Characterisation - 5
Description - 4

Novelty, Villain - Strong
Premise, Male Lead - Respectable
Plotting, World Building, Female Lead - Modest

Fantasy, Mystery, Literature, Erotica, Suspense - 1
-- Fantasy focuses on World-Building, but you scored only a modest in that, so the other aspect of Fantasy, the Action-Adventure aspect is actually what draws you.
-- Mystery focuses on tightly knit plots, but you scored a Modest in Plotting. However Mystery's also have strong lead characters, which is reflected in your Characterization score.
-- Literature is how willing the writer is to Break the rules of writing. You scored Strong in Novelty, so you are very willing to break the rules. With a modest in Plotting, and World Building, this is likely where you are more likely to follow your imagination rather than research the facts.
-- Suspense is Strong on Male Lead characters, and Action Drama, but it's also fairly strong on detailing and Description, which you only scored a 4 out of 9. My guess is that you're drawn to that style of slightly over the top of Male Lead, and possibly that style of Dramatic Villain, which you scored a Strong on.
-- Erotica is Strong on focusing on the Characters to the exclusion of almost everything else.

Can you see the repeating theme here?
-- Almost everything says your focus is on the Characters first, then Emotional Drama with Action Drama right behind it. All else supports those factors.

I really don't know how I got a point in Erotica. The very thought of writing an erotic scene makes me embarrassed...

I write Erotica (erotic romance) for a living. I have no pity for you. LOL!

I'm also wondering about Male and Female lead. If I got a higher score on Male Lead, does it mean that I can write a better story with ML rather than FL, even if the plot and setting are the same?

Actually, yes it does!
-- However, by only scoring a 4 (out of 9) in Description, your Male Lead might be quite dramatic, but not particularly Realistic in action or nature.

What this tells me over all, is that you really need to do more Research into what interests you. It can only make your stories stronger.

[Nekobiker]

Thanks a lot for your input! I'm totally going to be recommending this game to people.

[OokamiKasumi]

Thanks a lot for your input! I'm totally going to be recommending this game to people.

I'm glad I you liked it!

[Veniae]

I saw that you'd updated and decided to give V5.0 a go. I was a bit surprised to see my results, as they were quite a lot different than the first time I took the quiz. I think I only changed 3 or 4 answers this time around, and it was because the first time I'd found it hard to choose between two options.

Since I read more carefully now, I actually think this might be more accurate. Partly because of the 0-12 score system. I also like that you added a new question!

I got Gothic again.

Here are my other results:

[Surufe]

*hit my head to the wall*
I want to try this.
...
My laptop still broke.
*hit my head again*

[ofdawnandtwilight]

.........I somehow got Children's Book, and here I thought that I've always been writing gore and more young adult stuffs xD
But when I think of it, everything pretty much ties it up with how innocent and romantically vague my stories are

I love this, it's fantastic
Never expected that a game would help me realize more of my writing skills, thank you for creating this! ^^

[OokamiKasumi]

I saw that you'd updated and decided to give V5.0 a go. I was a bit surprised to see my results, as they were quite a lot different than the first time I took the quiz. I think I only changed 3 or 4 answers this time around, and it was because the first time I'd found it hard to choose between two options.

I've adjusted a lot of the options for better clarity since 3.0. That could have a lot to do with it.

Since I read more carefully now, I actually think this might be more accurate. Partly because of the 0-12 score system. I also like that you added a new question!

I'm thrilled you like it!
-- Yes, I added a whole new question, this one designed to identify the writer's leading skill and make it easier to see what needed a bit more polish.

I got Gothic again.

I happen to be very fond of writing Gothics.
-- You definitely have the potential to be very successful at writing them -- IF you strengthen your PLOTTING skills. Remember, Gothics aren't just about angsty characters. They're about how characters deal with their Angst. In order to map out a plan to deal with said angst, you'll need to Plot.
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*hit my head to the wall*
I want to try this.
...
My laptop still broke.
*hit my head again*

Sorry!
-- Sadly, Renpy doesn't do 'online'.
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.........I somehow got Children's Book, and here I thought that I've always been writing gore and more young adult stuffs xD

Believe it or not, YA (Young Adult) is considered Children's Lit.

But when I think of it, everything pretty much ties it up with how innocent and romantically vague my stories are

If you're into writing "coming of age" stories, that's a very common YA theme. In fact, it's almost exclusive to the genre.

I love this, it's fantastic
Never expected that a game would help me realize more of my writing skills, thank you for creating this! ^^

I'm thrilled you found it helpful!

[latte]

Sorry for spamming this thread, but I've played 5.0 (I swear this is the tenth time or so I play this) and finally overcame my fear of posting the results... I ask for your guidance, o' Writing Guru.