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 Discouragement sucks the joy out of our lives. But there’s no good reason to become discouraged with writing… Do you ever become discouraged with writing? You resent the time it takes and you’re never certain whether you’re going in the right direction. Or, perhaps you’re […]
Are you discouraged with writing? Here’s what to do Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Are you tired of working all the time, with never a break in sight? It’s time for you to work less and live more… Are you working too much? Many writers do. So do many self-employed people. So do many ambitious people. It’s work, work,
How to work less and live more as a writer Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Are you ever filled with regret after reading what you’ve written? I bet you’re suffering from a case of writer’s remorse…. When my husband and I bought our house some 30 years ago, we were unspeakably excited. We’d spent eight months looking — had toured
Do you suffer from writer’s remorse? Read More »
Reading time: About 4 minutes Some people find it painful to respond to edits from others. But learning how to use track changes can make the whole editing process so much easier… Do bosses, editors or cowriters ever want to change your text? If so, it’s important to be agile
Why and how to use track changes Read More »
Reading time: About 2 minutes Do you spend a lot of time thinking about what a crummy writer you are? I suggest, instead, you make some time to observe your thoughts… I’m in the beginning stages of a new book. And while I have more than 40 years’ experience as
Why and how to observe your thoughts Read More »
Reading time: About 4 minutes If you want to write a book be sure to avoid these seven toxic book-writing strategies, because they’ll just gum you up. When I was a child, I was a pack rat. I saved every toy, game, book, piece of paper and photograph. So, my
Book writing strategies that DON’T work Read More »
Reading time: Just over 3 minutes If you’ve ever spent a weekend afternoon making pickles, you might understand the similarities the task has with writing… I’m a pretty serious cook. In fact, I managed to turn my three kids into picky little foodies by the age of three. (I tried
How writing is like making pickles Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes No one is perfect. But it doesn’t make sense to badmouth yourself. If you’re a writer, here’s why (and how) you need to stop putting yourself down… When I was in high school and university, I saw myself as a procrastinator. Not inaccurately. I usually
Stop putting yourself down! Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Perhaps this will surprise you, but you need to learn how to fire a client. It will make you feel better and perhaps even help you make more money…. If you work as a freelancer, did you know you can fire clients? Here are 10
How to fire a client — and why you should Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Do you want to improve your writing productivity? Your best step is to plan on doing LESS…. I am intensely motivated to be productive. But I draw a very clear line against the tactics currently being used by some employers. Amazon’s notorious habit of clocking
How to improve your writing productivity by doing less Read More »
