Power Writing began as a weekly newsletter in April 2006. Its purpose? To give tips and advice about writing, to tell stories in an interesting way and to help corporate writers (and others) work faster, better. This newsletter is still distributed by email to thousands of readers around the world every week and, since March 2012, has formed the Tuesday entry of my blog.
You can read many Power Writing entries here – I back-entered all columns until the beginning of 2009, and a handful of ones that were earlier than that. But I hope you’ll consider subscribing, too. Just enter your name and email in the box directly under my photo on any page of my website. If you do that you’ll not only receive Power Writing by email each week, you’ll also automatically get a free copy of my booklet on mindmapping.
Reading time: About 4 minutes Shortening sentences — or, at least editing longer ones — is a great trick for making your writing more accessible to more readers… When I lead a writing workshop with a sizeable group of engineers or business people, I notice that many of them write sentences …
Shortening sentences: a simple guide Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Do you know how to let your mind wander? Don’t worry if people call you a “daydreamer.” A wandering mind is your passport to greater creativity. A majestic cypress tree grew outside my grade 11 classroom window, eons ago. I remember spending hours staring at …
How to let your mind to wander — a writing secret Read More »
Reading time: About 4 minutes Do you think you need to be happy or inspired to write? You have it exactly backwards! Instead, mood follows action…. Have you ever tried to write and found yourself unable to do it? My hunch is that you were waiting to feel more inspired. …
Mood follows action: no inspiration required Read More »
Reading time: About 4 minutes Scientists now believe there are excellent reasons you should doodle. Don’t view doodling as dilly-dallying or time-wasting… My mother became an artist at the age of 65. She took up chalk pastels and almost immediately started producing beautiful, saleable work. That’s a photo of one …
Can’t write? Can’t draw? Here’s why you should doodle Read More »
Reading time: About 4 minutes You should stop being a people pleaser if you want to become a more effective writer… If you’re a writer and a people pleaser, I can tell you how your life is going to go. Your writing side will lose and your people-pleasing side will …
Stop being a people pleaser! Read More »
Reading time: About 4 minutes Do you really have impostor syndrome? If you want to improve your writing, it’s worth asking yourself this useful question… If I had been given $10 every time someone told me they had “impostor syndrome” that posed a threat to their writing, I’d be able …
Do you really have impostor syndrome? Read More »
If you want to become a better proofreader, here are some easy-to-use tips that will make a big difference for you… Do you clean your own gutters? Change the oil in your own car? Bake every birthday cake from scratch? I’m guessing you don’t do many — if any — …
How to become a better proofreader Read More »
Reading time: About 6 minutes Fear of writing is a terrible burden. But if you can do what you fear, the fear will disappear. Here’s how to take that advice…. Emotions help us deal with important life events — without having to think. We don’t choose to feel these emotions. …
Can you banish your fear of writing? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes For whom do you write? I know your work might be for a client or for the public. But, really, you should always write for one person… I’ve received a great deal of advice over the years. Some of this advice has been silly — …
Why you should write for one person Read More »
Reading time: About 4 mins. It might surprise you to learn that the curse of knowledge is not a blessing in disguise. In fact, it’s a considerable disadvantage for writers… If you’re a writer, you’re probably a know-it-all. Not in the sense of a 6-year-old bully who says things like, …
How the curse of knowledge is harming your writing Read More »
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