Word count: 722 words Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Are you one of those people who thinks that change is bad? Read on to learn about the benefits of fluctuations… My husband and I went for a walk in Capilano Canyon last week. We skipped the famous suspension bridge and instead hiked up to […]
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Word count: 667 words Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Have you ever struggled with how to improve your writing? Here are five ideas so simple you may kick yourself for not having used them before now…. When I was a senior editor at a daily newspaper, I occasionally used to edit a journalist who had
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Word count: 649 words Reading time: About 2.5 minutes I’m frequently impressed by the parallels between writing and music. Today I find writing inspiration from the musical work of Jonathan Mann. I can’t remember who told me about Jonathan Mann (pictured above) but I’m grateful for the tip. I don’t spend enough time on the
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Word count: 721 words Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you allow yourself to get tied up in your own writing problems? Here are five strategies to try the next time you get stuck. My husband and I were in Oregon last week and spent several days on the Coast, home to some of the
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Reading time: About 3 minutes It’s always essential to know the challenges facing your audience. And no where is this more important than when you’re learning how to write for the Internet… My son is training to become an opera singer. Last week he had his first term recital – he sang Caro Mio Ben
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Word count: 717 words Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you frequently find yourself asking, “why is writing so hard?” (with or without an expletive!) I wrote today’s column expressly for you… Twenty years ago, if you’d ask me to describe the single task I found most difficult, I wouldn’t have hesitated a nanosecond.
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Word count: 750 words Reading time: About 3 minutes It’s hard to feel much joy when you’re reading really bad writing. But I have an idea that might just help turn your frown upside down… The managing editor couldn’t have been any nastier. “We’ve had a bomb threat,” he said in an email to the
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Word count: 753 words Reading time: About 3 minutes There are some funny similarities between writing and practicing piano…. I desperately wanted piano lessons as a child. Too bad for me my parents couldn’t afford them. Instead, I watched enviously as my classmates carried their music books under their arms and marched off to meet
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Word count: 746 words Reading time: About 3 minutes I’m a big believer in templates and systems. But what should you do if your writing process suddenly stops working for you? I really struggled with writing the last two issues of Power Writing. (I’m hoping you didn’t notice.) Ironically, those issues focused on the topic
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Word count: 688 words Reading time: About 3 minutes Here is the final entry in my three-part series on Deliberate Practice for writers. Be sure to read parts 1 and 2 first. (On the suggestion of reader Tracy Isaacs I rewrote this post on Oct 30 to express it in a more positive way — stressing what you should
How to use Deliberate Practice when writing – part 3 Read More »
