Copywork and how it makes Better Writers.
What is Copywork? Copywork is the act of copying a paragraph or passage from a novel you like. Isn't that just plagiarism? No, while you are copying what another author wrote, copywork isn't for the purpose of publishing. It's an exercise for improving your understanding of sentence structure, grammar, vocabulary, metaphor usage, and more, while helping you sound like the author you admire.
Who uses Copywork? Originally, copywork was invented by scribes to help preserve knowledge. These scribes would hand write every detail of whatever important texts they wanted to save. But it became more popular by writers like, Scott Fitzgerald who wrote The Great Gatsby, and James Patterson who wrote Along Came a Spider.
Why should I practice Copywork? While it's good for all great writers to read a lot. Reading can only get you so far. If I were to ask you, What author inspires you to write better? Who would you say? Why does this author inspire you? Whatever the case is, I know that for every writer out there, there is always at least one author you've wanted to write like. For me, I really love how Frank Herbert, the author of Dune, writes his books. And at one point in my life, I really wanted to write like he does. So, I sat down and scoured the internet, looking for anything that would help me write like Frank Herbert, but I couldn't find anything. If you've ever been in a situation like this, Copywork is your best friend. Instead of reading article after article or scouring Reddit for anything and only coming up with: this is how they structure their sentences. Or, you can't write like so and so, you should have your own style. Use Copywork.
The Big Question: How Can I Copywork?
If you have your own Frank Herbert, an author whose writing style you love, pick one of their books and find a passage or page that speaks to you the most.
If you don't have an author like that, ask yourself: What about my writing do I want to improve? When you find your answer, look for an author who does the thing you want to work on in a way that you like.
Once you have your passage, get a pen and paper. This is going to help you absorb the information so much better than just typing it out.
Step 1. Set time aside every day, at least 20 minutes, to practice.
Step 2. Copy down the scene you picked out.
Step 3. Go back to the start and break each sentence down into its base structure of, Noun, Verb, Adjective.
Step 4. Rewrite the scene, using the sentence structure and formatting, with your own characters, setting details, and dialogue.
Step 5. Repeat the next day with a new scene.