Will copying other classic authors' work make you a better writer? - Writers Forum

CountBlabula · 10-12-2008, 12:56 AM

Hello,

I once heard a famous writer copied other writers' work to help improve his own writing. He didn't plagiarize, he just copied in the privacy of his own home.

I was just wondering if what I am doing-- copying a little bit of Anthony Trollope's work every night-- might help me improve my own writing little by little.

I know children learn by imitation, and many artists do, too. Yet I know some things, such as writing, can't be taught completely by imitation. Oh well, I guess I'm desperate.

Any thoughts at all would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Claude

SparkyLT · 10-12-2008, 01:02 AM

I don't see how physically copying it would be any better than just reading...but then, people learn different ways. It might drive the lessons harder home, especially for some.

I hate copying. Maybe it's just me

Malone · 10-12-2008, 01:18 AM

Thompson did that with Fitzgerald. Might work. Can't hurt.

CountBlabula · 10-12-2008, 01:21 AM

Thanks for the reply, Malone! I don't know which Thompson you mean, though. I'm just now brushing up on my literature.

pacifist guerrilla · 10-12-2008, 01:23 AM

Well, I think it's a fine practice. I read and reread Hawthorne and Poe because I adore their styles of writing, and think they need to be resurrected some. None of this, uh... well, I just don't like most modern styles of writing.

I certainly think what you read influences your writing, so, if you think Anthony Trollope's work is better than yours, then sure, copying it will make some improvements.

Malone · 10-12-2008, 01:27 AM

Hunter S. Thompson.

CountBlabula · 10-12-2008, 01:29 AM

Malone, were you suggesting it's a bad idea?

Thanks pacifistguerrilla. I also am scared of most modern writing. But I love certain stories from journals such as Alaskan Quarterly Review and Lapham's Quarterly.

lin · 10-12-2008, 01:35 AM

My guess is if Thompson said that he was pulling somebody's leg.

No, it doesn't help to just transcribe other works.

Yes, it works for painters. Because they are learning technique. How to use the brush to get the effects. It doesn't work for writers because there is no technique. Only style.

SparkyLT · 10-12-2008, 01:40 AM

Well, I figure it'd help you learn proper grammar from context, but like I said, reading works just as well for that. I could read grammatical rules all day and not ever get it, but from reading, I can put together a few coherent sentences.

I suppose that's off-topic, we're talking about copying. My bad.

Malone · 10-12-2008, 01:46 AM

Thompson really did do it. It was when he was in high school.

I wasn't saying it was a good or a bad idea, just that it couldn't hurt.

lin · 10-12-2008, 01:51 AM

Like I say, you can't believe all of ol' Hunter's related exploits.

Quote:

Well, I figure it'd help you learn proper grammar from context,

I doubt that very much. It would be like going somewhere with somebody else driving, you don't really learn the route.

SparkyLT · 10-12-2008, 01:55 AM

You don't? I learn something new every day.

lin · 10-12-2008, 02:05 AM

Glad to hear that.

Sam Winchester · 10-12-2008, 03:19 AM

Copying verbatim? No, it won't help your writing at all, because it's not your writing.

Look at it this way: You're sitting in a study hall, copying someone else's writing because you couldn't be bothered listening to the teacher. Do you learn anything this way? Very little.

Reading those works, on the other hand, is a different thing altogether.

Malone · 10-12-2008, 03:42 AM

I see re-typing the work after you've read it as basically the same thing, only more intense. You get a feel for it more, maybe. I don't know. Like I said, I don't know how much good it may do, but it doesn't seem to me to be as negative as you guys are making it out to be.