“Copy is not written. If anyone tells you ‘you write copy’, sneer at them. Copy is not written. Copy is assembled. You do not write copy, you assemble it. You are working with a series of building blocks, you are putting the building blocks together, and then you are putting them in certain structures, you are building a little city of desire for... See more

Gladwell implies that what distinguishes truly creative work from derivation (or copying, or plagiarism) lies in the artist's ability to build upon existing foundations in a way that adds something new and meaningful to the conversation.