💡Master Writing Today Using this 18th Century Technique

Hey—It’s Mohammad.

It’s 9:14 pm and I’m doing something insane. Copying Theodore Roosevelt’s Work ethic mixed with Alexander Hamilton’s ferocious writing style.

Trust me there’s a method to the madness and it’s the key to improving your writing.

Read Time: 3.9 minutes

Quick note before you start:

I’m holding free LinkedIn Q&A sessions the next 2 weeks.

If you’ve wanted to grow on LinkedIn & have questions, hop on the session and let’s talk.

Snag a time here: https://tidycal.com/mohammadukhan135/1-hr-linkedin-mastermind-q-and-a-session

Here’s a peak at how a previous session went: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7260321349838028800/

Now back to the show.

An 18th century education tool is the best way to improve your writing.

Used in schools in the 18th & 19th centuries, copywork was how you taught writing.

It was effective for teaching. The more you copy, the more you memorize. Soon copywork became the writer’s way of sampling other people’s work the way a musician covers older songs—to understand its essence Take your favorite author’s piece and copy it—by hand. Many famous writers did this, but it was popularized by Benjamin Franklin.

Most people discuss copywork on social media as copying the text by hand, so you absorb the style. And it works. I’ve copied texts from Ryan Holiday, Cormac McCarthy, and Lara Acosta to absorb their writing styles.

If you copy word for word, you improve:

• Attention to details because you notice word choices more.

• Internalize different writing techniques.

• Build a writing habit.

Usually around 10-20 minutes works well to see improvements in writing.

But copywork doesn’t stick as well. You’re on autopilot.

Ok I copied it. Now what?

What most people forget is the other half of copywork that Benjamin Franklin did.

He edited. He was voracious in improving. And he did it in 4 steps:

1. Find a passage to study.

   For each sentence, write down notes on the content.

2. Rewrite the passage from memory using only your notes on each sentence.

3. Reread the original passage and correct any mistakes.

4. Repeat

If you want to get crazier, Ben Franklin’s got your back.

1. Take the passage and convert it into poetry.

2. Keep the meaning constant.

3. Convert your poem back to prose.

This is hardcore practice is guaranteed to improve your writing.

But copywork isn’t a silver bullet:

Copywork is great for improving your writing but not always.

When I first started copying others’ writing, I was autopilot. I thought that was enough. Writing what I saw without real understanding. Instead of improving my writing 20 minutes a day, I wasted 20 minutes a day.

There isn’t much guidance other than hand-copy texts. Beyond that, nothing. You have to dig for Franklin’s method and methods other writers used. Copying alone does not guarantee you will internalize surgical grammar, precise word choices, and beautiful descriptive language.

To do that, you need a strategy.

Here’s a Strategy for Implementing Copywork:

The Diagnosis: What’s the root problem?

• I am not intentional with improving my skills.

The Compass: What’s the true north?

• Don’t copy to mimic. Copy to Internalize the thinking & structure behind good writing. Notice patterns in others work. It’s a skill transfer.

The Action Plan: What are the tactics to solve the problem?

• Define a clear goal for improvement.

• Find 1 author who does an area well that you’d like to improve.

• Copy their texts by hand. Pay attention to how they do it.

• Improve & edit upon it as practice.

• Schedule the practice.

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See you next Saturday — Mohammad

PS: I’m holding free LinkedIn Q&A sessions the next 2 weeks. If you’ve wanted to write on LinkedIn & have questions, hop on the session and let’s talk.

Snag a time here: https://tidycal.com/mohammadukhan135/1-hr-linkedin-mastermind-q-and-a-session

Here’s how a previous session went: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7260321349838028800/

PPS: If you’re ready for more insights, here are other ways I can help:

• If you have any questions, reply to this email.

• Or if you need specific guidance, Book a 1:1 call. And we can talk more.

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