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TODAY’S IDEA: We learn by copying
— From: Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon
From a very young age we are told not to copy, but the truth is that “nobody is born with a style or a voice… In the beginning, we learn by pretending to be our heroes. We learn by copying.”
“You learn to write by copying down the alphabet. Musicians learn to play by practicing scales. Painters learn to paint by reproducing masterpieces.”
Yet it’s important to make a distinction between copying and plagiarism. “Plagiarism is trying to pass someone else’s work as your own. Copying is about reverse-engineering. It’s like a mechanic taking apart a car to see how it works.”
“The writer Wilson Mizner said if you copy from one author, it’s plagiarism, but if you copy from many, it’s research.”
The people whom we copy are usually our heroes, those that we admire the most, whose work we love and are inspired by. The trick is not just to copy the style but “the thinking behind the style. You don’t want to look like your heroes, you want to see like your heroes.” The goal is to see the world the same way they do, to “get a glimpse into their minds. If you just mimic the surface […] without understanding where they are coming from, your work will never be anything more than a knockoff.”
Then something remarkable happens: from imitating all our heroes and seeing the world through their eyes, we find the confidence to create our own style. We take from all of our heroes, mix it up, and out comes our own voice. This is what makes us different from one another and how we can best contribute.
ACTION
TODAY: Who has done what you want to do? Set a time today to make a list of your heroes. Then find out who are your heroes’ heroes. Make a list too, you’ll want to copy and learn from them as well. Remember you are part of a creative lineage.
FUTURE: Set up some time in your calendar to “do research” according to Mizner. Where you start, how and who you copy is up to you, but dive deep into the style and thought. Copy, copy, copy from all of your heroes and their heroes, reverse engineer the heck out of each, understand, improve, and then copy some more. Eventually you’ll start seeing your own style emerge. Don’t forget to share it with the world. Give credit to your heroes, as they served as teachers and mentors, but don’t forget to give yourself credit too!
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