Copywork Works

Copywork Works

Insight from Sam Parr

Good writing comes from practice. Just like with music, you don’t have to practice by writing your own pieces. 

You can get better by rehearsing the works of the greats.

This is exactly what “copywork” is - copying someone else’s writing (by hand!) to understand their syntax and writing patterns better.

Having tried this method, I can tell you that it works. It especially helps as a morning exercise to get the juices flowing before sending off emails.

But don’t just take it from me…

• Thomas Jefferson would handcopy passages from The Odyssey.

• Jack London practiced copywork with the works of Rudyard Kipling

• Hunter S. Thompson rewrote every word of The Great Gatsby by hand

If it’s good enough for those guys, it should work for us too.

Learn more: Watch Sam Parr talk about how impactful copywork has been for his writing practice