Become a Better Writer in 1 Week? Challenge Accepted

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How do you become a better writer? What happens when you try to write a year's worth of Copywork in 7 days? Can you get better at writing by copying?
When I looked up ways to improve your writing, one exercise popped up everywhere as a recommendation. To become a better writer, you have to copy the great ones. This is known as “Copywork”
This was practiced by many famous authors throughout history and is an exercise many still swear by today. For the sake of documenting this, and out of my own curiosity, I wanted to see if I could do this daily writing exercise, but condense an entire year's worth of work in just one week’s time.
The author I chose to study was Seth Godin. He’s the author of 19 best-selling books. He’s a prolific writer who posts to his blog every single day, which has over 7500 entries.
Chapters
0:00 My Writing Challenge
0:39 What is Copywork?
1:33 My plan to do 1 year's worth of writing in one week
2:24 Day one of my one-week writing challenge
5:19 Unexpected problems in my one-week writing challenge
6:52 The adjustments I made to improve my process
8:57 Something magical happened when I started writing for myself
11:08 The results of my one-week writing challenge
11:35 What did I learn from copying Seth Godin?
12:57 My process to get better at writing
14:35 The benefits of Copywork. What happens when you develop a habit for writing?
16:03 How to overcome writer’s block by Seth Godin
16:34 Challenge me. What do you want me to learn next?
📚 Resources and Links
Read Matthew's companion article: bit.ly/Seth-One-Year
Read Seth Godin's Blog: seths.blog/
About the Copywork exercise: www.jenmanuel.com/process-tips...
Read Matthew's articles: / matthewencina
Follow Matthew Encina
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Instagram, Twitter, Facebook: @matthewencina
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Опубликовано:

10 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 291

@user-qb3jg8ep9t 4 года назад

I'm currently doing a semester's worth of designing in one day

@kayaeki 4 года назад

Hoowww?? THats awesomeee

@orlandovasquez2766 4 года назад

Congratulations! Would you mind sharing how are you accomplishing this goal? Thank you.

@masonthompson3284 4 года назад

Been there. Done that 😂

@ajnovamusic 4 года назад

I laughed waaay too hard at this 😂

@Mithferion 4 года назад

Classic

@necromaster3154 4 года назад

Normal person: I'm gonna make content Matthew: I'm gonna make content out of me learning making content and making content

@AntonWongVideo 4 года назад

Procrastinating students reading the title be like "Yeah, that sounds about right"

@CanyouNOTT 3 года назад

Lol this

@NeonButterfly7 2 года назад

🤣 right!

@mimicoolll0 2 месяца назад

sounds about right lol

@DANAMIONLINE 4 года назад

"…Build a habit of practice." These words resonated with me because it takes the focus off the result and places it on the process. Thank you for this video. The notion of copywork is new to me. I have the thought to copywork books of the Bible to learn different writing styles and to inject scripture into my mind as an alternative way of reading scripture.

@kheryy 2 года назад

This is a crazy good idea.. This should help me to remember more scripture

@taylore7177 4 года назад

“Just because I made a plan and set it in stone doesn’t mean that it can’t be improved.” Love this! I recently made a plan as I decided to start learning graphic design and will keep this quote in mind😊

@elkyubi4281 4 года назад

Taylor E "chronologic fallacy", very common in planning

@AR-yz2xu 4 года назад

This inspired me to start writing. Something that I have been meaning to do for the longest time. Also as a reflection, diligently pursue things that I want to better myself at. By working on them EVERY SINGLE DAY. Thanks for inspiring and good luck with your writing!

@godwin_njoroge 4 года назад

Love how honest this was. Thanks for challenging us Matthew

@IliePandia 4 года назад

Oh, yes, more of this please. I love that you are so intentional with personal growth and you're looking for effective ways to do it. Also big fan of Seth's.

@mikecee227 4 года назад

I've been writing papers for 12 years! Two Masters degrees later, it's still easy to mess it up. My advice, if you want to be a good writer, keep writing and like Matthew said, emulate the people you want to write like. If anyone needs any writing advice, let me know, I'm always happy to help.

@futuremontagedsgn 4 года назад

I do. I do need any helpful advice that could be given now. Writers block messed with me that I dropped my pen for a long time now.

@kostaftp 4 года назад

Thanks for the advice. I didnt like the idea of emulating my favourite writers because it gave me a feeling of copycat, but after going through the exercise I realized that with practice, you start to blend these different styles and create your own copy.

@Naugamonster 3 года назад

Mike, what are your Masters degrees in? Also, if you ever create videos on writing, I'd subscribe!

@Naugamonster 3 года назад

Mike, what are your Masters degrees in? Also, if you ever create videos on writing, I'd subscribe!

@gurleenkaur1004 3 года назад

I fairly new to this.. if you have experience in writing, any advise given by you will be helpful😊

@SaraBrunettini 4 года назад

I loved watching this video. So I watched it twice. I read books everyday but I've never felt confident at publishing articles or posts online as English is not my first language. However, I didn't let it stopping me from writing. Remember "Just write poorly, continue to write poorly..." So in January I decided to start writing short posts on Instagram to improve my writing skills and build confidence. Three months later, I started to write scripts for RU-vid and today I spend an hour every morning writing content for my videos. Building this routine wasn't easy but it becomes easier one you get started! Matthew is a great example for all of those who have a great story they want to share but are too worried about the execution. Thanks for this video!

@scottmartin1179 4 года назад

I’m just may have to give this a try. More videos like this would be great.

@svoika 4 года назад

Do not copy only Seth Godin. This is a copywriter exercise done by a lot of people. We handwrite the big articles (big - impactful). I have rewritten several articles 10 times. This is something not spoken frequently, but it is a very important supersize. You enter writers mind.

@gurleenkaur1004 3 года назад

@@svoika you mean we should also rewrite big articles??

@svoika 3 года назад

@@gurleenkaur1004 Since I wrote this comment, I also rewrote an entire book. But in this "big" I meant impactful. Rewrite "big" speeches, articles and even novels. Its time consuming, but develops the most important skill - art of formulating and communicating your ideas.

@EdKidgell 2 года назад

This is one of the best writing courses I've ever seen. A lesson in Self Improvement. Thank you!

@TYMEToken 4 года назад

You Improvised. Adapted. & Overcame. Respect, Matthew 👊

@reedy1116 4 года назад

You are a fantastic speaker and teacher. I love this exercise and hope you decide to start that series. Sounds like a great idea! Thanks for always coming in clutch when I need a new approach to improving myself.

@derrickduplessy215 2 года назад

This video is changing my life. I was exploring copy work and fell into this video. Seeing someone I know do it made me feel like it was possible.

@melvinrobinson933 4 года назад

Thank you for getting me out my comfort zone, and keeping me engaged with bettering myself and being more creative.

@gregorynuttall 4 года назад

This is great! Learning technical exercises is great. I'd love to see more like this 🤘

@ShirleiBarnes 4 года назад

Mathew I loved this video especially when you said that you have many articles as draft because you were scared to publish it. This is not something easy to share with others. I also loved your progress, how you changed your goal, and as you relaxed your enjoyment changed. From quantity to quality 👏🏼

@marilynmoy3860 4 года назад

As someone who desires to publish books of poetry and prose, I am so grateful for this video. It's my first time hearing about copywork, and I'm excited to try it out :)) Thank you Matthew and The Future, from one life-long learner to another.

@cloudrabbit3181 4 года назад

This new series is interesting! Not only do we see notable people work and how to deconstruct them but we also get to see how Mathew tackles this and maybe gain more learning tips from him! I hope you continue this series! Great work you guys!

@RonaldCortez 4 года назад

Great video! I've never heard of the "Copywork" exercise before. Its inspired me to try it myself!

@XenosKing 4 года назад

I love the idea of challenge videos! I'm definitely for the new series. Great job Matthew!

@melindalivsey1 4 года назад

This was so good Matthew! Thank you for thoughtfully sharing what you learned with us.

@LanaStudleyTrueBrandStudio 4 года назад

Yes, I would love to see more from these series. Thank you so much for doing this.

@SharonDeCaro 4 года назад

This is great. Thank you for sharing your process, Matthew!

@_tommykuo 4 года назад

This is *phenomenal* learning! Thank you for sharing this Matthew.

@kuyajosiah 4 года назад

Great practical advice! Looking forward to the rest of this series! Of all the creative mediums most channels speak about creative writing always seems to be the one that's overlooked. We need more of it.

@herbigt 4 года назад

Love the video, Matthew! Even though I don‘t have a specific topic to suggest for future parts of the series, I definitely enjoy your documentation of the process. So, count me in!

@mpark1206 4 года назад

How to get better at writing has been a big question for me for a while. Thanks for the super actionable video.

@lisaj5728 4 года назад

Yes, more of this please. Learned a lot!

@felipearciniegas8347 4 года назад

This is literally the video I needed! Thank you so much for this type of content, really enjoyed and learned a lot from it as well as feel super motivated! LOVE THE FUTUR

@michaelmoore163 4 года назад

I loved it. The daily summary seemed to add a level of understanding. I would love that series! I'll think of suggestions!

@LorenaRinaldini 4 года назад

I loved this exercise! I would appreciate more challenges like this. I´m starting this one right now! Thank you Matthew ❤

@Jamesviolaofficial 4 года назад

Nice to see you adjusted your goals and expectations as you progressed. Great vid.

@internetgal1739 4 года назад

I WAS ABOUT TO SIGN UP FOR A WRITING COURSE THIS VIDEO CAME OUT AT THE PERFECT TIME! THANKYOU!!

@anya_sc 4 года назад

Excellent video! Glad to hear this is a series in the making, because this was so engaging! 17 minutes flowed by so easily, and I learned from every minute of it. While I'm not a writer, I've now got a bit of an itch to try this challenge myself. Or maybe even adapt it and make it more of an illustrator challenge, which is something I still want to continue improving on. I look forward to more of this, please Futur team!

@garyvoigt321 4 года назад

Definitely need more videos of you learning new skills. Watching these inspires me to learn along (or after) with you. 🤙🏼

@Mushba. 4 года назад

first off, BIG YES TO THE WEEKLY CHALLENGE SERIES secondly: Such a good video, as always! But really loved this because I could relate to this because you just gave a name for what I've been doing since i was young. I've been a fiction writer since i was an adolescent and part of the reason i picked up that skill was because i was doing a subconscious version of copywork. I'd just observe and try to write like the Austen novels i read. While i may not be a best selling author (for now!), i can tell anyone reading this comment that copywork / learning from observation/imitation is a very valuable way to learn (and a skill to acquire) as a writer and artist. Also, I love how thoughtful you are when sharing your experiences. It's a rare quality. I also think picking Seth Godin was such a good idea because your observations about his writing got me to thinking how his writing is very suitable for the social media platform/age. keep up the good work @thefutur

@ndahuraisaac486 4 года назад

This was awesome Matthew! Kudos to you. I had never heard of copywork and it sounds just too good not to give it a try for myself. Thanks for this. Keep doing what you are doing. Cheers!

@JandaBecanda 4 года назад

Hi Matt, thank you so much for this post. And what great advice. I watched it last night and practiced it today, and after only a day's worth of copying and studying the role text, I was able to write two solid blog posts in a short burst of time. Incredible! Thank you, this stuff works!

@JandaBecanda 4 года назад

@@MatthewEncina Would you mind sharing the note grids you keep each day. And your three questions at end of day? Hope your Mac is fixed now. The Futur is the BEST. Thank you all.

@DenokLestari 4 года назад

really appreciate your time, making this video.. and still, Matt is my role model :)

@ncs737 4 года назад

I love it! I really enjoyed when you let go of the goal and focused more on the growth. Thank you, Matthew!

@ncs737 4 года назад

@@MatthewEncina Of Course! :) Looking forward to reading that. I've been noticing how much focus I can sometimes place on the finish line prize instead of the growth that pushed me to get there. I'm learning that the process that got me there is just as valuable as the end prize.

@motionbynick 4 года назад

i absolutely love your videos matthew. Such a relaxing and refreshing style. you should definitely make a series 🤘

@youdontneedme 4 года назад

I really loved all your key takeaways about readjusting the scope and how this can be applied into any discipline! :)

@sujithgodavarthi5506 4 года назад

I prefer writing long-length articles for my website, but it's taking a lot of time than expected for me to write those. I think I should try this challenge. Good one Matthew.

@allwekando7498 Год назад

Thank you! 🙏🏾 this was beautifully put together and very insightful.

@1WillyDAVID 3 года назад

that's pretty cool, thanks for sharing it Mathew

@kayaeki 4 года назад

Omg thank you so much Matthew for sharing this with us!

@khunshaijaved1067 4 года назад

Absolutely amazing! Thank you for sharing this. The Futur has changed me from doing nothing to now creating so much on a daily basis. - Just a basic content writer from Pakistan working for brands all over the world today.

@mackenlyjones 4 года назад

Sounds like a really good series idea!

@vicky8531 4 года назад

Learnt a lot from this video, well compiled. would love to see the series coming.

@ankitmahar8070 3 года назад

Damn! This seems like a great idea. As an aspiring writer who wants to raise the quality of his work, this seems like a perfect tool to me. I wonder why I never thought to try something like this myself. Regardless, this was a great video. Thanks for creating and sharing it with me and others.

@soy__drea 4 года назад

I'm so glad I clicked on this video. I was hesitant to do so, but it is nice to see someone else's process of learning something new... It was also very encouraging to see how you adjusted the challenge to fit you instead of you trying to fit into it. Nice job !!! Definitely going to try it to improve my writing. :)

@soy__drea 4 года назад

Hi Matthew, thank you for your reply and time! Well, I saw the thumbnail about 5 times during the day before I gave it a shot, because I though you read a lot of books in a week and, honestly, I was not sure if that's the thing I wanted to see here (I mostly follow you guys because of branding and business strategy and also other type of content not really related to personal challenges). So, I think my mind is fixed into that stereotype for you guys (sorry about that, but that's how our minds actually work, sometimes). Hope this helps. Sorry about my English, not my native language. Learned it by myself, and tend to do mistakes while writing, sometimes 😁

@333nishan 4 года назад

Love it :) Inspired. Motivated. Sounds like an amazing series. Please do continue.

@robynleesamuels 4 года назад

This is fantastic, Matthew. As a writer, I do this whenever I come across copy that moves or intrigues me. Dissecting what the writer did and in most cases I walk away with the author's voice in my tool belt, ready to access if needed. I haven't actually done the copywork exercise, yet. But I think I should particularly because I want to sharpen my copywriting skills. I look forward to the next video in the series. Enjoy The War of Art. Steven Pressfield is an awesome writer.

@Lisa-qt7pw 4 года назад

Very cool! I'd be down for this series

@parttimenerd3706 4 года назад

I really enjoyed this video! I learned so much from this and it was awesome watching you find the value in a journey that didn't go exactly as planned.

@viktorblinnikov8160 4 года назад

Great and honest video. Love that new format. Thanks, Matthew. I think it will be an interesting challenge for you to learn Houdini in one week. It's a really hard nut to crack

@TheDanilampis 4 года назад

That's so Stunning video! It encourages me to use the same learning technique with architecture project. I love it and I really enjoy it! Thank you, Mattew! You push me out with a great clear process well explained, as always 💪 looking forward to seeing the series of videos!

@jpthinks 4 года назад

Thanks man! I am going to do this. Seems fun.

@simonpaquette4050 4 года назад

This was a really cool video, would love to see more content like this! Thanks Matthew

@alclevendamalerio1169 4 года назад

Man, I reallyyyyy love it! Content with substance! -Philippines

@ElementalIllustratio 4 года назад

Please make more of this type of content! Would love to see Matthew take on the challenge of designing a typeface from scratch

@muhanadhassanm8629 Год назад

This was really helpful, the concept of copywork is new to me, but will be testing it out for myself.

@harithkf2977 4 года назад

I'm happy that you enjoy the process of challenge yourself. I might as well commit this challenge bit by bit.

@orangecountywebsites 4 года назад

Love it Matt. Keep it up. Your so cool and nice. Very good role model.

@KimberlyLemon 4 года назад

Keep this series going!

@camillebayan3936 4 года назад

So neat! I love it! Now I'm inspired to keep on writing!

@christianmagill3829 4 года назад

That's an interesting idea. I always enjoy your content and look forward to seeing what other challenges you take on. I have a book on writing I've been meaning to read, so I'm going to take on the challenge and copy a chapter a day.

@SteveFWatches 4 года назад

This is awesome! love to see more challenge videos

@AaronGrosch29 4 года назад

I appreciate this and am working on sharpening my writing skills so I can better serve the kinds of people I want to work with through my writing.

@pranavmistry2172 4 года назад

Keep up with the good work coz Gandhi is watching ;) love the poster and superlove this video. Thank you Mathew and Team Futur

@theforgedone 4 года назад

Love this! Great idea and inspiration

@khadijatadeiza3711 3 года назад

Am so inspired. Am doing this right now no more procrastinating.

@cafekendama7388 2 года назад

Absolutely love this! Wow. What a great challenge.

@Meetdesigns 4 года назад

Thank You So Much for making this video. This kind of video gives strong motivation. I'm sucks on writing after watching this feeling i can do this.

@NeonButterfly7 2 года назад

This is the epitome of excellence. I’m so inspired! Thank you, keep up the good work. 👍😎

@talageri 4 года назад

awesome Mathew! So insightful!

@rielluzon 4 года назад

Hi Matthew! Thank you for remembering my thesis days when I took my masters. I can relate to the first 3 days which burned me out, really. But it's all about pushing and sticking to get what we want. Ingat. 🙂🇵🇭

@4TheCreatives 4 года назад

This is so great Matthew! Seth is my God on marketing💪🏽

@YourUncle_G 3 года назад

Very interesting, very inspirational. I will try this out. Thanks Matthew.

@JadeTrading 4 года назад

Interesting challenge. Thank you for sharing! 🙌

@ashrathod6953 4 года назад

Love this. Great video. Didn't even know copywork was a thing!

@ashrathod6953 4 года назад

Good idea!

@monicasdesignprocess 4 года назад

I love this so much and look forward to this as a series! Maybe you can share what your next one is so others can follow along too!

@superinventors 4 года назад

Loved it, feeling motivated to upgrade my writing!!

@MOOR5 4 года назад

I’m doing this...love the process

@RaliVanMinks 4 года назад

Loved this. Love you guys and everything you've done with the channel, your content, your insights, the amazing guests you host. I can't wait for this new upcoming series and to give this a shot! Also, I'm impatiently waiting to see the Futur hit that 1M mark. Can we count on a virtual global celebration?

@mindofsunjo5345 4 года назад

Fantastic! Definitely interested in more content like this. Thanks for sharing!

@thefutur 4 года назад

Awesome, thank you!

@thedevo01 4 года назад

Cool idea for a series! Please continue!

@EmilyAndersonHQ 2 года назад

This is an excellent video! Inspired me to write more! Thank you!

@GoFarAway5338 4 года назад

I hadn't thought of this method. I'm a big fan of talented music critics. I'm amazed by the way in which people like Greil Marcus have such an encyclopedic knowledge of music available for interesting comparison. I'll bet they are also reading their heroes' writing and copying their style. Thank you for sharing.

@albadriali 4 года назад

thanks for sharing, this was great. I noticed your medium articles a few weeks ago have a "Seth" touch to them.

@mazi777_nft 4 года назад

Nice video! Keep going man :)

@anuranmukherjee9022 4 года назад

Wow! This video amazes me as a few days ago, I just tried a similar exercise with illustrations where I copied Greg Gunn's illustration to learn Procreate and understand how it is done. Thanks Futur ❤️ , you come up with topics which really helps us in our daily lives. 👏🏼

@hiba380 2 года назад

Sounds perfect 💗 I'll definitely try it 🙋

@SamKaczurart 4 года назад

Please please please make this into a series!!!!

@petern1575 4 года назад

Love this! Please do more!

@priscillablanchot6922 4 года назад

Everything I have been doing lately has been so painful because it is all new to me. I just did my first video! You're right shipping nothing is safe. Zero is perfect. Love it!! I challenge you to multitask with 8 interruptions an hour, kids would be best for that aspect of the project LOL!

@headheart2608 4 года назад

Been into my Silver Jubilee year as copywriter (last ten as a CD though) and I'd say this is what I should've done in my first year. And that would have changed the quantum and quality both for what I've done so far. This is like taking your brain tothe gym. Thanks Matthew!