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: Less than 3 minutes Does the topic you must write about seem unspeakably dull and boring? Here are some tips for how to increase your interest, no matter what the subject… Imagine you have a blog piece, an article for your employee newsletter or even a long report that you’ve been procrastinating over. […]
How to get more interested in what you’re writing Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you ever long to engage in a couple of days of binge writing? If that kind of practice holds any appeal for you, read on to learn why you should change your mind… Right now my husband and I are binge-watching the period TV show The Americans. Set
7 reasons why you should avoid binge writing Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes “That’s bad writing” is a phrase I hear a lot, whether applied to a book, magazine article or blog post. But what, specifically, makes writing “bad” and what can we do about it? When I recommended the Gregory Maguire novel, Wicked, to a neighbour of mine, I had no idea
‘Bad writing’ — what deserves that label? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Writing something stupid makes sense when the alternative is simply staring at a blank computer screen… When I was a teenager, I used to babysit a girl I’ll call Michelle. She lived directly across the street from me and she was famous in our neighbourhood for always asking “Why?”
Why it’s better to write than to BE right Read More »
Reading time: Just over 3 minutes Most of us know it’s a good idea to show compassion to others but how often do we consider showing ourselves some simple self-compassion? Writers are prone to self-criticism. We tend to embrace directives such as, “Our children can achieve great things when we set high expectations for them.” (Jeb
Why you should go easier on yourself Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Predicting what might go wrong is not a dark art — it’s an essential skill for anyone who wants to pursue a career as a writer… My husband considers me to be an awfulizer. By this he means a person who expects the worst to happen. For example, if
How to stop yourself from being a quitter Read More »
This post first appeared on Oct. 23, 2007. Reading time: less than 2 minutes I’ve noticed that effective writers tend to share seven traits. So, with apologies to Stephen Covey (pictured above), here is my own list of 7 habits worth adopting. Have you ever wondered why some people write easily and fluently, while others
The 7 habits of highly effective writers Read More »
This post first appeared on Sept. 15, 2009. Reading time: About 3 minutes There are two main types of writers in this world and here are three editing tips for each of them. A subscriber wrote to me recently with the alarming subject line “writing discipline” and told the following story: “I’ve been writing for years,” she
Three ways to beat the editing monster Read More »
This post first appeared on Aug. 17, 2010. Reading time: About 3 minutes It’s summer — and what could be better than paddling a canoe? My own paddling also made me reflect on some important rules about writing… Our summer was late getting started in Vancouver this year but it’s been flawless. Maybe even a
What canoeing taught me about writing Read More »
Reading time: Just over 3 minutes Do you want to learn how to develop the writing habit? It’s not as hard as you might have feared… The hardest part about writing is not the work of stringing a sentence together – it’s the commitment it requires, day after relentless day. If you want to build
10 ways to develop the writing habit Read More »