DIY Writing Exercise

Hi guys!

Today, I thought I'd share a free and easy do-it-yourself writing exercise that will help you hone your technical craft. We don't always have the time or money to attend writing workshops or take classes- luckily, there is a lot you can do with a few books, right from the comfort of your internest! This activity works for fiction as well as non-fiction, and beginner through advanced, as you choose your own difficulty. I've written this with novel writing in mind, but it can be adapted for articles and blogs as well.

My internest is infested with cats...

DIY: Transcribe!

First step: Pick five of your favorite books. Be sure they share your story's POV (whether it be first-person or third-person perspective) and tense (past or present). I also recommend choosing books from the same genre you are writing.

Second step: Open up a blank document or grab a clean sheet of paper, and pick a page from each of the five books at random. It is important to select these pages in no particular order so that you do not become distracted by the awesome and entertaining storyline as you repeat this exercise- instead, you'll be focusing on the writing itself.

Third step: Transcribe! Copy down the entire page, word-for-word, comma-for-comma. When you're finished, you'll have one random page from five of your favorite authors.

Fourth step: Throw it all away. Your transcriptions, not the books. ;) We're not here to plagiarize these amazing authors, but learn from them. Musicians practice the songs of other musicians to expand their skills- this is the same thing.

By completing this exercise on a regular basis, you're essentially learning excellent habits from your favorite authors at your own pace.

It's common knowledge that when we read, we learn, even from the fiction books that entertain us. This transcribing exercise allows us to really slow down and absorb the technical elements taking place on the pages that we breeze by so quickly.

Do this enough, and your grammar will improve. Your spelling will improve. Your understanding of the balance of scene construction will improve. Your pacing between description and dialog will improve.

No matter how advanced or successful, I've never met a writer or artist who didn't look up to someone else. There is always room for improvement, and this is just one of many ways to work on that. I hope it helps you in your writing journey!

That's all I've got for now. Time for me to crawl back into my writer-cave like an unnervingly cheerful bridge-troll (not to be confused with an internet troll). Do not fear, my friends, I keep my curtains open and eat plenty of fruit to keep the scurvy away! Just kidding... mostly... when I have a break from writing or working on revisions for my re-release, I plan on finding a pool of water to fling myself into. I hope that you're all enjoying your summer!

All yours,

~A.R. Ivanovich