How to Write Well. Step 2: Imitation

Now that you’ve read your favorite authors, copy them.

No, I’m not advocating plagiarism. Nor am I recommending that we all become Asylum Entertainment-level copycats who can’t come up with original ideas and never contribute anything to society other than rehashes of a better writer’s work.

But if you want to learn to write like your favorite authors, write like them. An important step in learning anything new is practice, and good practice starts with imitation.

If you want to write good music, first listen to music, then learn to play songs written by others. Then add variation. Very soon, you can write original pieces of music.

A good way to practice your writing is the “pastiche,” a work of writing that imitates another. Write a new chapter to Tom Sawyer. Tell a lost story of Harry Potter. One of the most rewarding ways I practiced writing was by creating a sequel to Mark Twain’s “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” 

 

I’m not recommending lazy fan-fiction here. After you’re done writing your pastiche, read it in context with the rest of the author’s work. See what parts fit, and what parts don’t. Look for differences in style and tone. Where does your story not sound like your favorite author?

The same goes for non-fiction. In journalism, practice covering a major news story, then see how your reporting differs from that of a well-respected news outlet.

Each piece of writing has a voice. A novel and a dissertation on marine life are written in vastly different styles, or “voices.”

All writing is a form of impression. Each sentence is a form of imitation. I’m not just talking about imitating real people, either. JK Rowling had to do impersonations of Ron Weasley, of Hermione Granger, of Harry Potter. She had to write in their voices, not hers.

Your characters must each have their own distinct voice. Your narrator’s voice must be unique from your character’s and it must be consistent throughout the work.

To develop your voices, imitate others. Learn how Dickens or Mark Twain crafted his tone, his characters, his narrative style. Learn how to write like them, then learn how to write like you.

It’s an important way to practice crafting a specific tone, and a way to learn how to write in different voices. Imitate. Do impressions. Then go off and create your own work, knowing that you can write in whatever tone and in whatever voice suits your work best.

Why self-publish? The benefits of self-publishing

When people ask “should I self-publish?” or “why self-publish?” there’s often a note of fear in their voices. After all, is self-publishing an admission of defeat? Are there benefits to self-publishing?

There is a stigma attached to self-publishing. To some, choosing to self-publish is a sign of failure. “I couldn’t get a standard publishing contract like a REAL writer, so I’m forced to go it on my own.” This is why lots of self-published writers are choosing to call themselves “indie writers” now. Sounds much more impressive, doesn’t it?

There is a component of apprehension in my personal decision to self-publish The Mystery of the Masked Marauder. I spent almost two years querying literary agents large and small, receiving almost 100 rejections.

That sort of rejection is disheartening, but it’s important for aspiring writers to realize that this is an incredibly difficult market to break into and there is no shame in indie publishing.

Traditional publishing is inhospitable 

In the 1990s, JK Rowling was rejected dozens of times in her quest to find a publisher for Harry Potter. Since the emergence of the e-reader and the explosion of the internet, landing a traditional publishing contract has only gotten harder. Much, much harder. To the point that many agents have closed themselves to submissions, or will tell you upfront that they accept perhaps 10 new writers per year out of 10,000 inquiries (that’s 0.1% for those keeping score at home).

So it’s important not to get discouraged.

But what are the benefits of self-publishing, other than the obvious “I can’t get published anywhere else”?

There are quite a few, and we’ll discuss them more in future posts, but here’s a quick breakdown.

Benefits of self-publishing 

“Indie writing” allows you more creative control (do a quick Google search and you’ll find hundreds of authors who say their book was shredded by publishing house editors); it allows you to make more profit (70% royalties versus 15% is a pretty noticeable difference); and it allows you to have a closer relationship with your readers.

Another key point: the very factors that led to traditional publishing becoming more difficult on new writers has led to self-publishing getting easier. Perhaps the biggest factor: Amazon.com.

Publishing houses are accepting almost no new writers thanks to the Kindle and Amazon.com creating havoc in their industry, but thanks to Kindle and Amazon.com indie writers can now publish with little to no upfront cost. It’s free to publish on Kindle, and you can even publish softcover books with Amazon’s Createspace platform without paying anything upfront.

So self-publishing is now easier, cheaper, and allows for more creative control and greater profits. At the same time it’s more difficult than ever to publish traditionally. In this climate, self-publishing makes more and more sense.

How to write well. Step 1: Read

How do you learn to write well?

A lot of people ask me that question, in some form or other. While I may not be an “expert” on the craft of writing (I don’t have a Ph.D., for instance), I have authored three novels, and as a newspaper editor I make my living analyzing and reshaping the written word. 

I have learned a few lessons over the years, and I hope these lessons can help you on your quest to become a better writer. Whether you hope to one day finish a book, want to enter the exciting world of journalism, or just want to punch up your Facebook posts, this series should help you. 

Here’s the first and most important lesson I’ve learned:

To write well, read well

I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I don’t know much about grammar. 

I don’t know what makes past perfect tense so perfect, and I still struggle with the correct pronunciation of “participle.” I failed at diagramming sentences in school, and never bothered to learn how.

But I can edit a newspaper each week to the standards of an unforgiving news industry. How?

I read. 

It’s simple advice, but it’s important advice, and the necessary first step to becoming a better writer.

You might think that "tip" is too obvious, but before you click away from this page ask yourself if you really read enough. Do you read the right books, do you read deeply?

Don’t just read. Read what you want to write. Study it. Immerse yourself in it.

Want to write better news articles? Read a good newspaper. Want to learn how to write like JK Rowling? Read Harry Potter. Pay attention to cadence, rhythm, word choice. Listen to the voice of the piece.

Don’t study the rules of grammar as a starting point. That's boring, and in my opinion not nearly as important. You don't learn to build a tree-house by studying how nails are made. 

Start by reading. Learn to write the way you first learned to speak: through experience.

How do I know if something is grammatically correct? If it sounds right. If it looks right. If it matches my experience. When in doubt, consult your "AP Style Guide" or your “Elements of Style,” but don’t worry if you haven’t memorized all of your conjugations. Read first.

This lesson is the foundation for my writing. In future posts, we’ll discuss imitation, storytelling, and writing techniques, but this lesson – the first lesson – is the most important.

If you don’t read, don’t write.

Frequently asked questions

You asked them, so here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about The Mystery of the Masked Marauder:

Q. What was the original title of the book?

The working titled was “Talking Animals Help Me Solve Crimes. Also I’m Not Very Good At Coming Up With Book Titles.” Believe it or not, that was deemed to be too long, so we shortened it (slightly).

Q. Where are you publishing?

The Mystery of the Masked Marauder will be published by CreateSpace, which is owned by Amazon.com.

Q. Where can I buy the book?

Once it’s published, The Mystery of the Masked Marauder will be available on Amazon.com, CreateSpace.com, on Kindle, and at select bookstores and libraries (we’re working on that last part as we speak).

Q. Why did you decide to independently publish?

There will be a blog post about this very subject soon, but the short answer is that traditional publishing is becoming more and more difficult for new writers. Most publishers won’t even consider books from unpublished authors, and most agents will tell you they accept less than 0.1% of those who are interested in becoming clients. Besides, in independent-publishing your profits are much higher, which is a plus.

Q. What is the book about?

What a coincidence! We actually have a full product description on our About page. If you don’t feel like making the long trek up to the top of your screen, here’s a short version: The book is about a boy and his (talking) dog, who solve neighborhood crimes together. They meet a lot of quirky animal characters along the way, including a compulsive-liar weasel and an acrobatic frog.

Q. Where are you in the publishing process?

We’re doing a final round of edits to make sure the book is perfect when you read it. We’re also working with an illustrator to design the front cover and some interior artwork.

Q. When will you go to print?

We hope to publish this fall.

Q. How can I help?

Share our blog and Facebook page with friends, family, and random acquaintances. When the book is published, buy a copy for yourself. Give it as a gift. Recommend it to friends, especially friends with school-aged children. We’ll be relying primarily on word of mouth to get the word out, so your help would mean a lot.