Swipe On Swipe Off… What’s In a Swipe Anyway?
Monday, January 25th, 2010
Swipe on, swipe off… now this isn’t Karate Kid. Any writer worth their salt collects good writing. But they don’t copy it. Copying in the writing world is better known as plagiarism. And that’s a big no-no that costs careers.
So why swipe? And what the heck do you do with them once you’ve got them?
You swipe other’s good writing to hone your own writing skills. When swiping you also need to look at the article or letter, read it, absorb it and analyze the heck out of it.
Swiping is done to learn. You take the swipe and glean all the info and writing nuances from it that you can.
You look for the idea and slant behind the words. You look for the type of audience who was targeted. You look for the emotions and the call to action in the article or letter.
You absorb the flow and word selection. Break down the structure and see how you can fit it into your own style of writing. You don’t copy it… you come to understand it and then apply that understanding to your own words.
You adapt and change it so the swipe fits your writing. You don’t change your writing to fit it. You own your words. Borrowing someone else’s stuff verbatim is the sign of a cheap hack.
Swipes are only guidelines for your possibilities and writing potential. Copying someone else is stupid. Emulating them and adapting what works to your style is a compliment to them.
Your writing should always be your own. Influences are good. Imitating isn’t.
So go ahead; swipe on swipe off. Just use wisely and with caution.