the good and the bad of copying.
Something breaks, you google the error, and stumble upon a bit of code or a script that promises to cure what ails you. For better or worse, it often works ... for now, that is, until something else breaks, and you google again, until it's copy and paste the whole way down.
That's the bad version of copying, the kind merely good artists do in Picasso's famous quote.
Then there's my weird version of copying that I've found as a trick to get started. Not copying to fix stuff, or copying to rip it off, but copying to get myself to start writing. I'll turn on a song, transcribe the lyrics, and like the momentum of pedaling a bike where you can't immediately stop the flywheel effect, I'll keep writing only this time in my own words.
So here are some thoughts on copying to start, and how to aspire at least to Picasso and Jobs' level of great artists.
Got a similar trick that works for you? Would love to hear your hacks to get started.
Thanks for reading!
Matt + reproof.