Imitate the Greats
Imitate the greats? Well, sort of.
I was reading an article, and have
read in other places as well, of an exercise where you imitate your favorite author.
Many artists do this with music,
paint and other art forms.
So why not writing?
It’s a bit different. Because when
you emulate, you are writing like your favorite writer, and it can take you off in
different directions. You imitate their style, after reading a story from them.
Or then there is copying. Which is a
practice that some famous authors did to learn from their favorite authors.
Some wrote in longhand to get the feel--to see what it was like to think like
those authors.
This can be a useful exercise.
Personally, I haven’t gone too deep
into the practice. But from the few times I’ve tried a page here and there, I can
definitely see the benefit. It’s like dissecting the authors work and putting
it back together to see how it works.
One bad thing I can see coming of
this is if you’re not careful, you can start to write exactly like that writer,
and risk being called a copy.
Plus, if that writer has bad habits, you can pick
them up. Traits that distinguish them, will be traits you may copy and
then you’ll really be called out.
If done properly, you should get
some great oversight into how the greats put together their work.
You can read more on this here: Writer's Digest article
Have you ever tried either of
these exercises? And did you try imitating or copying? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter
@Wcmarchese
Hope to see you there.
WCM
Oh, one other thing. The last few
blog posts I’ve put up complimentary YouTube videos to go with that days post. What did you
think? Maybe suggestions? I was pondering doing a video only for Fridays post, or
if it became popular maybe more here and there. Let me know. And if you can,
subscribe!
Comments
I wrote this on twitter as a response, and I'd like to leave it here too:
I like to re-read my favorite passages from my favorite books [over and over] & analyze them to see why they affected me the way they did.
For example, I might ask myself why I love the campfire battle in BOATS OF THE GLEN CARRIG. What pacing and other stylistic tricks make it so exciting?
I might then compare it to action scenes from other writers I like and see if I can find common factors among them.
From there, I might carry these findings into my own writing.