Is copying a good writing exercise?

I've heard this recommendation before, too.
In Writing with Uncle Jim.


relevant excerpt:

"Now, retype the first chapter. Do this with your writer's eye, not your reader's eye. Think about the lengths of the sentences, the lengths of the paragraphs, the sounds of the words. Think about the order of the scenes. Notice the dialog. How are the dialog tags rendered? Where is the point of view?

The point of this exercise is this: Have you ever gone to an art museum and seen the art students sitting there with their easels and oils, copying the great masters? The point isn't to turn them into plagairists, or to make them expert forgers. The point is to get the feeling into their hands and arms of how to make the brush strokes that create a particular illusion on canvas. Writing is no less a physical skill than painting. The words are your paints, the sentences your brush strokes. Following a master, asking yourself, always, why. Why did he or she choose this word rather than another? Why was this scene from this particular point of view? Why did the scene end there?

Writing is an art. Everything is there because the artist (that's you!) chose to put it there. The surface meaning, the deeper themes, those are your choice.

I can hear you saying, "Yeah, right, Uncle Jim. You say 'Retype a chapter,' but I bet you never did that."

Wrong-o, my friends. I did just that (I did more -- I retyped entire books). You can find some of them here, the ones that I still had on disk to convert to HTML and which were in public domain.

At the very worst your typing skills will improve, and that's nothing to sneeze at.

Assignments: Get a copy of Logical Chess Move By Move, and work through the problems. Get a novel that you personally really admire, and retype the first chapter."


I think I've read it in another place. Never tried it, but had been meaning to try a few pages at some point.

WillSauger said:

I would say: No.

It almost sounds like just practice typing.

I would tell you to emulate your favorite author's writing style, study what you wrote and practice the parts you liked best to add to your own writing style.

But I can't see how copying, word for word, a passage to improve your own writing. Why don't you just read it and break it apart to understand it?

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Just curious. Have you tried what the OP asked about, or are you guessing?

Imitation is a wonderful learning tool, but copying? Not so much, I'd say.

But there is a learning technique we were taught in college that does seem to help, and it begins with copying. Pick up a novel you've never read, but in a genre you like, and preferably by a writer you like. In other words, get your favorite writer's latest novel, but instead of reading it, open to page one and start copying.

When you get to the end of chapter one, close the novel and continue writing the story. Write at least three chapters, and four or five is better. Go as far as possible. If you want to put in the time and effort, you can even finish the novel. I've known a couple of writers who wrote very good novels this way. When finished, they rewrite chapter one completely.

But as a simple learning exercise, just write from three to ten chapters. Once you've done this, open the novel again and start reading. Compare where the novel goes to where your own story goes. Compare characterization, dialogue, pace, flow, etc.

This won't help all who try it, but it did help quite a few in my college classes.

I would say, unequivocally, no. Writing new words engages your brain, copying someone else's words does not. READING your favorite author's works and really studying what they have said and HOW they have said it will help you to understand how to effectively construct a good sentence, a good thought, and/or a good story. But if you are merely copying someone else's work it is pretty much an idle exercise and you would be better served by reading a book on writing or merely taking the same passage you might write down and dissect it, analyze what makes it work and why.

Archerbird said:

I wonder what 70% of the members are doing here then...

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Unlike riding a bike, practice does not make permanent. Practice, contrary to popular belief, only makes permanent. It will only serve to embed in your psyche the habits you are practicing. If you are practicing bad habits, you are embedding bad habits into your writing brain. Some things, like life in general, are a learning process. You must continue to work on them and hone them throughout your writing life to ensure you are practicing the best possible methods of doing a thing.

The only difference as far as I see it is that riding a bike delivers its own feedback. You learn through riding what ends you up on the ground, what gets you going faster, and so on. With creative writing, the feedback is not inherent; you have to seek it out before you can apply it.

TheWordsmith said:

I would say, unequivocally, no. Writing new words engages your brain, copying someone else's words does not.

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I do this regularly and get a lot from it. I know many other people who do too. It does engage my brain.

TheWordsmith said:

READING your favorite author's works and really studying what they have said and HOW they have said it will help you to understand how to effectively construct a good sentence, a good thought, and/or a good story.

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When you're doing this properly, you're doing exactly that.

Typing passages slowly is sort of like a supercharged form of close reading, I've found, and I'd compare its benefits to those of taking lecture notes or giving faux-lectures about subjects to an imaginary audience: approaching material from more than one "angle" (e.g., tactile + visual) can help one learn faster.

I don't type passages out at my regular typing speed. I can't imagine that being helpful. I guess most people are assuming OP is talking about typing passages out at 60 WPM or something. Nearly every time this advice is given, though, it's paired with the word slowly.

TheWordsmith said:

[...] merely taking the same passage you might write down and dissect it, analyze what makes it work and why.

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This process and the one you're referring to here aren't mutually exclusive. I do both--one flows seamlessly into the other. Also, I find that when I re-type a passage, observations about "what makes it work and why" flow out much easier, making the analysis stage afterwards a lot more efficient. So it's not even a gratuitous step, for me; it actually saves time.

Sorry, this is a mild jacking, but I can't resist mentioning "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote" by Jorge Luis Borges. Read it if you can; it's brilliant and funny. Faux review of an (imaginary) author's word-for-word re-creation of Don Quixote.

Anahid21 said:

Today, my writing buddy and I were chatting about the eternally bamboozling topic of "How to be a better writer," when she suggested something new. She said a good way to up your writing skills was to grab a book from your favorite author and type what they have written EXACTLY. At first I thought it was dumb before I remembered I learned drawing as a toddler much the same way, by tracing. Maybe similar mechanics apply. She certainly believed that it would ingrain some sort of "muscle memory" into your brain that would make you write like your favorite writer once you finish copying the entire book. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

And I hope I posted this in the correct section since we're talking about novels.

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Interesting. Now I'm curious to try this.

SomethingOrOther said:

When you're doing this properly, you're doing exactly that.


Typing passages slowly is sort of like a supercharged form of close reading ... [and] can help one learn faster.


This process and the one you're referring to here aren't mutually exclusive. I do both--one flows seamlessly into the other. Also, I find that when I re-type a passage, observations about "what makes it work and why" flow out much easier, making the analysis stage afterwards a lot more efficient.

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Ergo, what you and I are both referring to is not merely copying someone else's words. It is a careful analysis of the writing and style. And, on that point, I would have to agree wholeheartedly with your assessment.
And thanks for clarifying.

I would think reading is more of a learning tool than typing/copying passages. Also, writing your own stuff is an excellent learning tool.

In other words-read, write, read, write, read, read, read.

This writing advice was in a writing book I read (by Laura Whitcomb). I tried it out by copying a passage from a favourite book and found typing out the words helped me analyse word choice and use more than I would have than by reading it, so I say yes, give it a go and see if it helps you.

WillSauger said:

I would say: No.

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I agree. It seems like a total waste of time and energy to me.

This is one of those writing things that I endorse and sometimes forget and need reminding.

I'd say try it. If you find it works for you, that's great. If it doesn't work for you, that's great. You won't know until you do it and there's no law written that once you start and find it's not working that you have to keep doing it.

As mentioned above, you can't race through typing/copying. The point is to do it with intention and attention to what is being done by the author in the craft of the sentence/paragraph/scene/chapter.

I'm also one of those people who can remember whole lists once I've written it down so the act of writing it down with thought is a good technique for me.

Buffysquirrel said:

Erm, yes it is. What you need to practise however is your own writing, not someone else's.

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I agree. But copying another writer's work will only increase your manual dexterity and typing skills.

But writing-writing-writing (your own work) will not always make one a good writer. Some writers will write forever and never write anything worth reading.

As for that write a million words thing? Not for everyone. Some writers do it right the first time.