A simple way to learn to write like Tolstoy

You would think that this title is an exaggeration? Frankly smell yellowing?

In fact, there is no deception here. I promise you that after reading this article you take a pen, a piece of paper, sit back and start writing a hair's breadth as Leo Tolstoy, a prominent Russian classics.

Or do you like Balzac? Shakespeare? It does not matter - any writer.

Is that with the Arab and Chinese writers may have a little trouble.

And here Pablo Picasso?

Or rather - Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Ruiz Picasso. Hell, he could not afford to refuse the pleasure to write his name completely!

What do we know about him?

A great man, the founder of Cubism, the most "expensive" artists in the world. For example, his work "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust" was sold in 2013 for $ 155 million!

Talent and genius? Undoubtedly! The very originality? Uh-uh, not really.

It is known for how Picasso developed his own unique style. His father, Jose Ruiz drawing teacher Blasco, believed that the real skill comes only after long hours copying the great masters of the past. Little Pablo was copying a variety of artists. Sure, here and there was it, no matter what hitherto not like the style.

Bad artists copy. Good artists steal. Pablo Picasso

Picasso copied it:

And this:

But in the end that's painted (at the cost of $ 155 million):

Do you see the similarity? Me not.

Other great masters who have studied copying

In addition to the Picasso hundreds of famous people started to copy. Among the other artists it van Gogh and Michelangelo, eg.

And if you go back to writing, then there examples - the mass. Benjamin Franklin I learned to write by hand copying newspaper articles that he liked. Shakespeare altogether accused plagiarism.

We should also mention Dan Kennedy, Entrepreneur, multimillionaire, who is considered the world's most expensive copywriter. When Dan first started, his mentor, another great copywriter, Gary Halbert forced to rewrite their successful sales letters. Again and again. Now the sales letter written by Dan, will cost you $ 100,000.

As you can see, a simple (but not easy) way to learn to write - copy from the hand of the best authors. Sentence by sentence. Line by line.

After all, a reason we men call us copywriters. Unknown forumchanin

How to select these authors?

Rewrite everybody unreasonable. Choose only those whose style you like the most. In addition it is desirable (but not required) to rewrite the text of the same size that you are planning to write. If this book - the copy of the book. If the article - the small notes from magazines, newspapers and blogs.

Let me give an example of your own.

A year ago, I started a blog about personal effectiveness. I wrote always pretty bad, so I was determined to improve his "style", so as not to disgrace to subscribers. I started and manually copying among other exercises. What I copied? I immediately decided that I wanted to write in a light, slightly humorous and bold manner. And I write concise - no more than 5000 characters normally. Having set these criteria, I chose the following authors:

• Ilf and Petrov
• Alex Eksler
• Viktor Shenderovich
• Vasily Utkin

Someone may notice that not all of these people - the classics of literature. Yes, but this is not required! The important thing is that I like to read these authors, as they had not been contacted. In addition, the last three of them often write in my format, and Alex Eksler - and all popular blogger (although his books, I also recommend).

By the way, the style of modern Internet-writers - is not only letters, lines and paragraphs. It also emoticons, pictures and links. Behind all this is also worth watching.

Friends, I will be very grateful to you if you write in the comments of their favorite authors, columnists. Maybe they would come up to my collection.

Muscle memory? Not in this case!

Many critics of the method emphasize just that. Like, you're hoping to muscle memory, but it's only make you a writer soulless machine that only knows what is right to place punctuation.

I do not agree.

Muscle memory in this process is not important. In the process of copying me open up this invisible connection, motifs and techniques. I'm starting to feel the structure of sentences and paragraphs.

For example, I notice that the author violated simple rules described in all textbooks for aspiring writers. Suppose wrote apparent tautology. Why did he do it? It is clear that this error is not accidental. I wanted to convey in this way the author?

All this and I think as long as the hand prints words.

The hardest thing, by the way, do not turn off the brain. He kept trying to throw up in the background, and he begins to think about anything other than text. Copy should be conscious.

Next, I will scatter popular doubts.

"You would not be his style"

Will be.

You - are unique. Unique in your experience and your character. If this mix in a few other styles, the resulting cocktail can "shoot in the head," your reader. Or maybe not. At least the Picasso up early masters did not stop to become not just a cool artist, but also to invent an entirely new style of painting.

"It's boring"

Yes, from the outside it seems boring - sitting for hours stupid to rewrite. But everything changes when you take a pen. You begin to notice many small details and "interesting" that sometimes willy-nilly, to stop and carefully studying the writing.

"Why copy? Just read "

Read - very important. But it is still more. When I read, I quickly fond written. At the head of drawn pictures: people, countryside, emotion, etc... I just do not have time (or forget) to pay attention to it, as the author writes.

Write your feedback

I recently came across a forum of writers, where this method is hotly debated. Writers were divided into two camps: some believed this method reasonable, while others - a waste of time, or even harmful. But that's just caught my eye, that criticized the way most people who have never tried it.

And what do you say? Did you try to copy the classics? There is in this sense? Write in the comments!