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: Fewer than 4 minutes If you want to learn how to be a successful freelancer, today’s post pulls together my experience from 40 years of being an editor… I was a teenage editor. I started by editing the essays of friends then advanced to the high school yearbook.
How to be a successful freelancer Read More »
Reading time: Fewer than 3 minutes Do you allow yourself enough thinking time? Surprisingly, many writers don’t…. How much time do you spend thinking? Not worrying. Not writing. Not organizing. Just thinking. Smart guy George Bernard Shaw said, “few people think more than two or three times a year.” Then
Why you need a Schultz Hour for thinking time Read More »
Reading time: Fewer than 3 minutes Our perception of how we’re doing — whether in writing or something else — can sometimes be wrong. This error is known as progress bias…. I spent 30 minutes yesterday doing my least-favourite task in the entire world: rounding up and categorizing invoices and
What is progress bias and how do writers fall victim to it? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 5 minutes Here are my 10 favourite articles or posts from last month, focusing on the most useful, helpful and entertaining pieces for writers. The days are getting longer in the Northern hemisphere and I’m usually surprised by how quickly it happens. One evening I’m reading
Pubcoach top 10: April 2021 Read More »
Reading time: Less than 4 minutes If you’re someone who’s easily distracted, learning how to focus when writing will give you a big payoff in productivity… Do you ever sit at your computer and find the prospect of writing to be defeating you? You know you need to work on
How to focus when writing Read More »
Reading time: About 4 minutes Time is precious. If you want to make time to write, it’s not hard. But you’re going to have be persistent and dedicated about it. My schedule is jam-packed. Each day I race between writing projects, meetings and necessary admin work that only I can
How to make time to write – part 2 Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you know how important stories are to writing? Learn how to be a great storyteller… Our dishwasher broke last week. It was an expensive model — a Bosch — and only three years old so I was plenty peeved. Making matters worse, our
How to be a great storyteller Read More »
Reading time: Just over 5 minutes Here are my 10 favourite articles or posts from last month, focusing on the most useful, helpful and entertaining pieces for writers. Handle your perfectionism Are you a perfectionist? Many writers tell me they are although I usually find the bigger problem is their
PubCoach top 10: March 2021 Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you have any bad habits with writing? Here’s how to demolish them so you can learn to write with ease, grace and pleasure… When people tell me they cannot write, I never suggest they get more disciplined or work harder. Instead, I try
How to break bad writing habits Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes If you think sunk costs are a topic suitable only for economists, read on to learn how this issue affects writers as well. Do you ever do any of the following: Work for a client who belittles you or who pays you poorly? Accept
How sunk costs sink writers Read More »
