Learning to Write Through Imitation
Teaching writing through mentor texts
Stephen King is arguably the most well-known and one of the most prolific authors today. It’s not uncommon to hear writers share not only their love for King’s stories, but their desire to be “the next Stephen King.” Of course, there’s only one Stephen King, and if a writer were to become the next Stephen King, she would never be known for her own unique contribution to the world of writing; she’d always be compared to Stephen King.
Which is the danger of imitation.
But imitation is actually a key part of the learning process from an early age. We learn how to speak and walk and play and interact with others by watching how those around us do it, and then trying it ourselves.
Imitation as a Foundation of Learning
When my daughter was a toddler and hadn’t learned to walk yet, I could have given her the following advice, “Just stand on your legs, then move one leg forward and place it on the floor in front of you. Then move your other leg and place it just a little bit further in front of you.”
Sure, the advice describes for her exactly what she needs to do to walk, but giving her a model of what walking looks like is going to be much more efficient.
