>Copywork: the practice of transcribing a piece of writing word-for-word, either by hand or by typing, to study an author's style or to practice foundational writing skillsHere's what some anons we interviewed had to say about it:>It's by far the quickest and most efficient way to tangibly improve your prose>This apparently provides me with enough energy to write an entire chapter. I have no idea how or why, but it gets me into my flow state within ten minutes. Then, once I feel sufficiently ready to write, I stop and start writing. >You have to copywork the entire book to actually read it. >I think it's a good exercise if you're really thinking about how the prose works while you do it. Writing by hand is a different process of cognition than reading. Copying a painting works the same way, it's great practice>Realistically you either have it or you don't in terms of ever becoming a great prose stylist. That aside, best way to improve your writing is to do copywork. Find an author you like and start copying pages from their books, word for word>Aaah! Sasuga desu ne? Hahahaha>I have copied out Blood Meridian by hand, and it sharpened the fuck out of my proseMore on it and the writers who used it: https://www.artofmanliness.com/finance/career/want-to-become-a-better-writer-copy-the-work-of-others/
Fuck off manchild
>>25496043>>>/reddit/
>>25495919Pierre Menard did this and he wrote Don Quijote
I read about it, ben franklin learned how to write from it.Too be honest im too lazy to do it. Im more into free writing and then editing
>>25495919Do not copy, steal.
>>25495919People want to believe mindless secret tricks like this work. For obvious reasons. People are dumb and lazy.
>>25495919Is this Draw Bridgman Twice of /lit/? Who’s the best model to copywork? Nabokov? Shakespeare?
>>25496112People also always overcomplicate things tbdesu. That's why most give up at the starting line. It's like new artists who think using references is cheating and then end up quitting after two ugly drawings.
>>25496118If two drawings make you feel bad enough to quit drawing, there's no point to keep going.
>>25496116I imagine it's best to start with whoever you want to emulate. Like the guy in the OP who says he copied Blood Meridian. If it works I'm sure once you're actually able to write something decent you'll be able to more easily find your own "voice." Like musicians who developed their own sound by trying to imitate their idols.
>>25496112Not mindless. Not a secret trick. This is how humans learned and preserved knowledge for centuries.Memorization of poems and passages was also crucial. The greater part of training practically any skill is to build a sort of muscle memory and writing is no different.>People are dumb and lazy.So stop being lazy. It's called copyWORK.
>>25496126I like the French word "velléitaire", something like "weak-willed". Someone with big hopes and dreams but who cannot put in the work required. That most likely described 99% of the users on this website. Feeling good about what you've accomplished in the early stages is a great confidence booster. Which is why learning about how to draw by copying and ending up with something you never thought you could shit out on a page is slower long-term for a patient person, but more efficient short-term to motivate newcomers.
>>25496112artists start out by tracing, THEN they have enough foundational technical ability to understand what the hell the abstract art theory terms are even talking about. ive done the same shit with later cormac mccarthy books and i can emulate his prose pretty well. i had to do that in order to start caring about the more abstract shit in grammar like noun cases, verb aspects and also why literary allusions are done and what they add to the story - this stuff certainly works. you learn the foundational essence of 70s shakycam filmmaking by copying Friedkin or Lumet or someone, then seeing where their stuff works and yours doesnt, and proceeding to clean up the errors. you learn the foundational essence of dressing well putting together an ersatz of a nice outfit you find on google, then seeing why the model wearing it works and you wearing it doesnt, then proceeding. etcetera etcetera. this absolutely works and makes the process of developing your own voice a fun experiment about internalizing and mixing different voices rather than a rote thing that you hate doing and can only stomach through coffee and willpower
>>25496134>artists start out by tracingIn what world? Classical training starts with drawing what you see. Usually irl boxes, cylinders, balls, cones. Then proceeds to sculptures and nude models If you want to force the analogy, perhaps new writers should try to write what they have seen and experienced. But who knows if that's even a good idea. You are the one who brought up the artist nonsense.
>>25496128That's dumb. How is copying not mindless? It's like solving thousands of basic arithmetic problems and thinking you can proof some non-trivial theorems.
>>25496151Nta but the link in the OP says>Copywork was the primary way that schools in 18th and 19th century America taught children how to write. It was thought to be a highly effective way to teach students handwriting as well as proper grammar, punctuation, and syntax.Idk if it's true or not.But all in all I imagine copywork is reading while paying extra attention and stopping to take a break when it just becomes robotic. I don't see the point if you're listening to a podcast and watching subway surfer videos on three different screens on the side.
>>25496148you have to practice the basic motions by imitating somebody else, then when youre able to do them on your own, you can start to experiment. this is how learning in general works, not public school "i got a 100 on my test im the smartest in my class im such a good boy!!!!" learning but real hard learning, which is why you see this pattern pop up everywhere from the martial arts to developing authorial styles. if you dont internalize what other artists are doing the same way you internalize other practical skills, then all you ever make will be a stack of formalisms you get out of literary criticism books and everyone will be bored by your work>in what worldin benjamin franklin's world. high IQ polymath. read the article dude
>>25496151by solving thousands of basic arithmetic problems, you get an internalized sense of solving basic arithmetic. by copying math proofs, you get an internalized sense of what proofs do, how they look, etc. if you actually did any of this shit youd know this
Ken Wilber wrote out all of Alan Watts' books by hand prior to writing his books. Ken's known for writing in a good theoretical/descriptive style for most of any given work, and then putting a beautiful poetic part at the end of a chapter.
>>25495919I started doing this with poe and Lovecraft but I'm not sure if it's had an effect yet
>>25496177muscles dont start to look like anything until a few weeks in, and dont start to look impressive until a few months in - mental muscles are the same. keep going. you learned how to walk, how to drive, how to speak English by fucking up and learning better. more complex skills are no different
>>25495919>it sharpened the fuck out of my proseyeah this greentext really does sound McCarthian, sempai
>>25495919Thanks for posting this anon, I'll try it out
>>25495919I do this when TL'ing manga and for some works that aren't available in epub.>>It's by far the quickest and most efficient way to tangibly improve your proseThat depends more on what you are transcribing, honest.
>>25495919Heard about it months ago and wish I knew about it years earlier.
>>25496416>wasting McCarthy prose on 4Chan posts
