The Copyworking Challenge | Ep 44

Buildwriting

I've come up with an interesting idea for improving my micro fiction writing skills - copyworking. No, I'm not talking about plagiarism or copy and pasting the works of others. What I'm going to do is study the writing styles and techniques of some great micro fiction authors like George Saunders and Amy Hempel. By very carefully re-writing and emulating their stories, I'm hoping to get a deeper feel for the rhythm, flow, and craft of their prose. It's kind of like how a child learns to speak by mimicking the phrases and sentences they hear their parents say over and over. The goal isn't to just copy verbatim, but to absorb the patterns and structures so I can then apply those lessons to creating my own original work. Many writers recommend studying the greats in this way - it's an exercise in experiential learning.