Copy Work: What is it? Why do it?

by Jackie Houchin

If you are an avid reader, you know that the best writers pull you into their worlds. Their words become images in your imagination as soon as you read them. The writing itself becomes invisible. (Or at least it should.)

That is a problem when reading to learn how the author did it. Instead of paying attention to the sentence structure, you are immersed in the story.

That is where copy work comes in.

What is Copy Work?

It is the practice of exactly copying another writer’s words, omitting no punctuation mark or capitalization, usually done with a pen.

Who even does this?

Jack London trained himself to be a better writer by copying out (in longhand) passages from Rudyard Kipling’s work.

Other writers have used Ernest Hemingway’s writings or copied out “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. (A short novel)

Morgan O’Hara copied the U. S. Constitution by hand, word by word.

Greg Digneo, on SmartBlogger, tells the story of salesman Dan Kennedy, who copied a two-foot stack of sales letters by hand. Twice!  He wanted to become the best in this field.  Today, you would have to pay him $100,000 to write a sales letter for you. And he would get a commission on every sale you make.

What is the goal of copy work for writers?

The goal is to understand how authors write and express their ideas. What makes their writing work and flow? How do they structure their paragraphs and sentences? How do they create compelling characters?

Copy work helps you identify bad writing habits, like passive voice, stale metaphors, repeated words, etc.  It will help you with good punctuation and grammar, spelling and vocabulary, pacing, scene description, and using dialog tags.  It will help you write more precisely, with fresher, more original words.

Seriously!

Artists copy the Masters to improve their skills. If you want to be a better writer, copy great writers. 

How do you make the most of your copy work?

1. Choose a writer you love, the book(s) you could not put down.
2. Set aside time to do your copy work daily (20-30 minutes for handwriting, 10-15 for typing). Use a timer.
3. Select a moderate-sized chunk of text. (Not War & Peace, but also not a Haiku)
4. When you finish copying one story, pick another one to work on. Keep going for at least 90 days. (The magic of copy work happens through repetition.)
5. Don’t stick to a single author. The goal is to learn writing techniques, not imitate one author.
6. Mix genres: nonfiction to fiction, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, poetry, film scripts. (They all teach different writing methods, scene structures, dialogue, setup, etc.)
7. Practice daily, if you can
8. At the end of each session, review the passage you copied and add notes. Reflect on what you liked and what you learned.
9. Follow copy work by moving into your regular writing. You are all primed to go.

By doing copy work every day, you will be writing every day. It will train your brain to see writing as a no-stress, no-pressure practice. It will make it easier to turn to your own writing.  If you are having writer’s block or just can’t come up with a new idea for a project, story, or book, you can still do your copy work to keep that daily writing habit going. You know, seat of your pants in a chair…. etc.

What do you NOT do with your copy work?

You will not publish your copied text or try to pass it off as your own. Copy work is for your eyes only. It’s a writing exercise. It is not plagiarism.

Need some suggestions? Try copying out these.

• Cat Person by Kristen Roupenian
• A Death by Stephen King
• The Veldt by Ray Bradbury
• Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway

Have YOU ever tried COPY WORK?  Did it help you?  How?  If not, will you give it a try?  If you can’t comment below, drop me an email at Photojaq@aol.com. 

CONFESSION: Years ago, I read that I could become a great writer if I could copy a book I admired in its entirety. Yes, the WHOLE book.  I thought that sounded too good to be true. But, as I admired Rosamunde Pilcher and loved THE SHELL SEEKERS, I thought I’d try that book.  (The paperback edition is 656 pages!)  I think I got to page 35. I wasn’t becoming a great writer. I was getting bored, and my hand was cramping.  I quit. 

But now, after this research (short sessions, consistency, review and take notes), I’m willing to try again. I may not become great, but I think I’ll improve my writing skills.  I have another book in mind to copy. 

Perhaps in my next rotation post, I’ll tell you what I learned from the experience.

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• And thanks to the following for their insights on this “cool” topic. 
• RADEK, founder of Writing Analytics
• ELIOT CHAN – Eliotchan.com, April 14, 2020 
• MATTHEW ENCINA – thefutur.com, July 13, 2020
• JULIA HESS – craftyourcontent.com, May 17, 2018
• LORRAINE THOMPSON – marketcopywriterblog.com, March 14, 2012
• ANN KROEKER – Annkroeker.com, June 27, 2017