Are you a “Fitzgerald” or more of a “Morrison”? You might think your writing personality is uniquely “you,” but maybe you have more in common with a famous writer than you might suspect. Take our writer personality quiz and find out!
Writer Personality Quiz
1. When do you do your best writing?
A. Under the worst circumstances; the more stress, the better.
B. Only when you’re actually sitting down to write; you don’t think about your writing work when you’re away from it.
C. During “work hours,” since writing requires the same professionalism as having a day job.
D. Before dawn, because your day job keeps you busy.
2. Where do you like to write?
A. In your urban apartment, or your mansion, depending on how the money’s coming in.
B. Anywhere you can pull up a desk while traveling the world—but you have a fondness for island life.
C. In a windowless shed. To write about something, you have to be completely cut off from the world.
D. In a hotel room far from your daily distractions. You want to focus—but room service is nice!
3. If given the choice between partying and writing, you…
A. Usually can’t say no to a party.
B. Party and write—but do both passionately and with focus.
C. Tend to prefer writing and being alone (okay—you’ve been called a recluse).
D. Are too busy to party often: Life has important work for you.
4. When you have writer’s block, you…
A. Refer back to all the notes you’ve been taking, and find an idea there.
B. Write one true sentence.
C. Rely on routine, because “how we spend our days is how we spend our lives.”
D. Forget “write what you know.” Instead, discover something new and write about something you know nothing about.
5. In terms of form, you think:
A. Write whatever’s paying the bills: short prose, essays, commentaries, screenplays, novels, etc.
B. Short and sweet is best: Say more with less.
C. It makes more sense to write one big book than to write many stories or essays.
D. You excel at novels but have worked in other forms too, like librettos. You’ve got a lot to say about injustice and social change.
6. When you’re not writing, you’re:
A. Raising hell.
B. Traveling to seek out new experiences to write about.
C. Reading or horseback riding.
D. Teaching at an Ivy League school or being politically active.
7. Your romantic life:
A. Is full of extreme ups and downs, and your broken love is almost obsessive.
B. Is destined to fail. You fall hard but it never lasts. You always try to be first to leave.
C. Is quiet: You’re married to a fellow creative soul who understands your drive to work.
D. Is under control. You’re a divorced, single parent committed to your own independence.
8. The quote you agree with about writing is:
A. “An author ought to write for the youth of his own generation, the critics of the next, and the schoolmaster of ever afterwards.”
B. “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
C. “Get to work. Your work is to keep cranking the flywheel that turns the gears that spin the belt in the engine of belief that keeps you and your desk in midair.”
D. “I think some aspects of writing can be taught. Obviously, you can’t teach vision or talent. But you can help with comfort.”
So…Which Writer Personality Is Yours?
If you answered mostly “A”:
You’re like F. Scott Fitzgerald. This writer epitomized the youthful energy and excess of the Jazz Age, and wrote The Great Gatsby among other books. Learn more about F. Scott Fitzgerald.
If you answered mostly “B”:
You’re like Ernest Hemingway. This writer’s curious nature led him to distant shores, and his attention to spare, precise prose made him a hero to many. Learn more about Ernest Hemingway.
If you answered mostly “C”:
You’re like Annie Dillard. This notoriously reclusive writer’s book The Writing Life gave aspiring authors a peek into the intimate creative processes of a brilliant prose stylist. Learn more about Annie Dillard.
If you answered mostly “D”:
You’re like Toni Morrison. This writer’s interest in style and in capturing the experiences of vivid characters made her a standout writer, teacher, and advocate. Learn more about Toni Morrison.
What if your answers were equal? I have two of each.
I’m half Hemingway (yuck) and half Morrison (yay)–with one dash of Fitzgerald thrown in!
I have always felt myself closer to Ambrose Bierce, because of his bitterness and his sarcastic viewpoints on many aspects of life. In general, I feel more akin to bitter writers, like Bierce and Orwell (I read “1984” when I was a child and it iron-branded me forever).
I’ve been told I write like Hemingway but I scored C which is Annie Dillard. Interesting.
I’m Hemingway. But I’m a poet so maybe this test doesn’t work for me.
I’m half Hemingway, half Morrison. Nothing wrong here. (Stephen King).
I am a cross between Toni Morrison and Annie Dillard. I like the company I keep.
i had mostly A with a bit of Hemingway and Dillard..
Fitzgerald!
Some answers didn’t apply to me at all, but I answered “as if” so I came out Hemingway, with Morrison as a close second. Interesting, as soon as I read #2- and knew my answer was B, I automatically thought: Hemingway. Fun quiz though- keep ’em coming!
I’m Hemingway – yay.
I’m F. Scott Fitzgerald, which is absolutely amazing. I just had to reply to a blog interview for my book and one of the questions was ‘who was my favorite all-time author’ and I said F. Scott Fitzgerald, and talked about ‘The Great Gatsby’. I read it at least three times, and I never read a book more than once. His work is just a delight to read. Thanks, this was fun,
Ernest Hemmingway and Annie Dillard. Annie’s birthday is the same day as mine – April 30th!
I have been compared to Heinlein in my writing style. Maybe that’s why virtually none of the questions had answers that fit me. Well, except maybe the ‘island’ one. Cute quiz!!
I had 1 A and the rest C. Annie Dillard.
I prefer to be like myself. However, Annie Dillard came out tops with 1 Fitzgerald .
I was surprised to see that I was like Toni Morrison. But I’m definitely keeping very good company.
One A, two each D and C, three B. But I write for children because I never grew up. And I don’t intend to.
I am my own self…But I like a few writers and am influenced by them
I had one A 2 B’s, 3 C’s and 2 D’s, and I am practicing to become a hermit, so I favor Thomas Merton.
I don’t write like anybody. Everyone tells me that. They also tell me they love it…!
I write what I am learning and illustrate it with my past
Hemingway for me then? No; I’m a Wordsworth with a little dash of Milton.
Ernest Hemingway with some Fitzgerald 🙂
Hemingway and Dillard. Yep, I definitely share similarities with those two. Spooky but I like it ?