Good artists copy, great artists steal.
- attributed to both Picasso and Steve Jobs of Apple
Writers need to study the work of writers who came before and those currently publishing. Immersion with improvisation occurs when we copy out the rhythms of a favorite writer. Rather than "stealing" - which could cause trouble - move into the moods and words of great writers with a writing practice.
Take a few lines from F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, Joyce, Joseph Conrad and Kerouac in order to try out their writing styles and various rhythms. Mix in Salinger, Stegner, Carver, Twain, Nabokov, Vonnegut, Amy Tan. Add work by Cisternos, Marquez and Kingsolver, Choose your favorites to have as write-alongs.
Also select a variety of poets and see how the lines feel under your typing fingers. After you have spent the time copying, do a freewrite. Do you notice a difference in sentence variety and structure? Do word choices flow and change? Do you feel the presence of another voice?
Writing is serious work in a playful realm. Nurture your possibilities by copying the best.
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