Want to write like the writers you admire?

“How do I write more naturally,” said the new copywriter. 

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“You can read and transcribe this book,” I said back. 

Then I sent her a link to Reach for the Sun by Charles Bukowski, the dirty realist, the smut writer, the genius. His novels and poems are so simple — simple words, simple sentences, simple ideas — and yet so vivid and relatable and memorable. 

But Reach for the Sun isn’t a novel or a book of poetry. It’s a collection of Bukowski’s personal letters. 

Here’s one he wrote to his daughter, Marina:

Bukowski’s letter to his daughter, Marina.

I love this love letter. 

(And it is a love letter, you know.) 

I love it because it’s tender and sweet yet void of tender, sweet words. And I love how natural it is. It reads the way Bukowski talks. 

(Writing naturally, authentically, is important in copywriting, in marketing. You should always sound like a person.)

Anyway, I love this letter, so I “copy-worked” it, meaning I transcribed it by hand. (Took me 7 minutes.) Why? Because copyworking is the fastest exercise I know of to learn another writer's voice and style. 

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Try it.

Get a book from any author you admire and transcribe page 1. 

Then 2. 
Then 3. 
Keep going. 

Keep going and someday soon you’ll look at your writing and smile at how far you’ve come.

o.k.

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