Copy the work of writers who inspire you
You come across a write-up that makes you stop and stare.
You think how immensely talented the creator is, to be able to produce it. In the same breath, you wish you too were capable of producing something like that.
But, when you think of recreating it yourself, you refrain.
After all, you don’t want to contaminate your Originality by imitating something that’s already created. You want to produce work that is good and is pure ‘yours’.
But, it hardly works that way.
The truth is, the more we imitate, the faster we attain our original, unique style that makes the reader stop and stare!
The elusive Originality is not born only out of great ideas air striking you while washing dishes.
Its seeds are sown by the creations of others that inspire you and that you imitate or recreate.
And in doing so, you don’t create carbon copies. You’ll find yourself removing something here and there and replacing it with a little piece of you.
Michael Jackson is known to have started off imitating the dance moves and vocal techniques of artists like James Brown and Jackie Wilson, eventually developing his unique vocal style and moves.
As a young actor, Leonardo DiCaprio studied the performances and techniques of actors Jack Nicholson and Robert De Niro, gradually finding an acting style that won him Oscars!
So the next time you find a creation that makes you stop and stare, go ahead and recreate it without inhibition.
Do it over and over. For hundreds of creations, hundreds of times.
All these pieces of content that inspired you to imitate them- will breathe, move, and churn inside your brain cells, mix with your creative juices, and give birth to what you’ve been chasing so badly — Originality.
Allow this unique concoction to brew inside you, turning into the secret sauce of the amazing, original writer it helps you become!
