: Re: Is it a good idea to improve my writing skills by "fixing" what others wrote? So, I tried out a new thing. Take this segment from The Eye of Argon: The weather beaten trail wound ahead

This is similar to an older exercise of learning how to be a writer. It involved transcribing selected passages exactly. The point of the exercise was to kind of force you to think, â€œWhy did they use this word in that sentence?â€

Your method extends that technique. It might be helpful in finding your own voice â€” as in, how would I say that phrase, notion, idea, or scene in words that more match a manner in which I express myself.

Unless you are using a very poorly written text as your source (a harlequin romance) or using one that is dated or in a style that is no longer in fashion, then you are unlikely to improve the work.

There are people that want to be writers that use this technique. I met one such fellow, he rewrote all of the dialog of â€œThe Last Jediâ€ to improve it. I am fairly certain many others do things like this too. And, then there are writers that only write fan-fiction for their favorite TV or Book series. Personally, Iâ€™m sure of the attraction, but Iâ€™m in no position to judge whether theyâ€™ll ever develop themselves as good writers. And, Iâ€™ve no desire to judge them, if it makes them happy, so be it. And, the same applies to you, if you enjoy it, then go wild.

The only other word of caution Iâ€™d add is that I think the best developing writers I meet are always the most honest, open, and humble of people. I think that it what it takes to learn to be a great writer â€” when you are part of that great mass of humanity not seemingly born with talent and have to work at it.

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: I think you need to understand your character's reasons for being a Know-It-All. It can be out of enthusiasm for a subject or deep need for acknowledgment or a need to show up other people

: Re: Is it a good idea to improve my writing skills by "fixing" what others wrote? So, I tried out a new thing. Take this segment from The Eye of Argon: The weather beaten trail wound ahead

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: Is the Agile planning methodology useful for the writing process of a fictional book? I've been wanting to write a book in my spare time for a long time now, and while I've tried to start

: I would like to illustrate poem and compile it into a book, and is it ok to publish it? I'm an artist and I wanted to illustrate some of my fav poems into a book. The poems are mostly

: How to do Motivation Reaction Unit when there is multiple motivation at the same time? How to do Motivation Reaction Unit when there is multiple motivation and the main character have each reaction

: I think you need to understand your character's reasons for being a Know-It-All. It can be out of enthusiasm for a subject or deep need for acknowledgment or a need to show up other people

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