Power Writing began as a weekly newsletter in April 2006. Its purpose? To give tips and advice about writing, to tell interesting stories and to help writers everywhere work faster, better. I distribute the newsletter by email to thousands of readers around the world every week and, since March 2012, it has become 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 next to my photo on the home page of my website. If you do that, you’ll not only receive Power Writing by email each week, you’ll also automatically get access to a 10-minute video on how to unblock your writing.
Reading time: About 3 minutes Don’t fear change. Instead, embrace it. Become an adaptable writer who is able and willing to face whatever comes your way… When I worked at a daily newspaper in the 1980s, my desk was in a large room with roughly 100 other people, most of […]
How to be a more adaptable writer Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes If you’re an academic seeking publication in a peer-reviewed journal, here’s a trick that will dramatically increase your odds of success…. I seldom write posts aimed at only one segment of my audience, but today’s column is intended for academics and grad students. If you
How to increase your odds of publication in a peer-reviewed journal Read More »
Reading time: About 4 minutes For a writer there are few things more frightening than hand pain from writing. Our livelihood — and our source of joy — is at stake! When I was a child in a family of seven, I had the clearest, most beautiful writing in the
Ouch! How to deal with hand pain from writing Read More »
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 »
