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 Communicators need to use writing transitions — or bridges — from one sentence to the next. In that sense, we’re a little bit like ironworkers… Bridges, connectors or transitions are the words, phrases and stylistic devices that help direct readers through our writing. Sometimes I even […]
Why writers need to build bridges Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Having a “vocabulary” of writing problems might sound like a strange idea but there are some terrific benefits from knowing how to ID your bad writing… I was speaking with a coaching client last week about “bad writing.” Here’s what we decided: Most writing is
How to ID your bad writing Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes If you’ve ever struggled with turning mindmapping into writing, here’s some advice for you… I like to describe mindmapping as a little bit of fairy dust for writers. But recently, a writer named Omer wrote to me saying, “So, I mindmapped. Now what?” If you
So, I mindmapped. Now what? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 3 minutes As a dedicated reader of blogs, I stumble across lists like “The 15 ways to….” all the time. Here’s some advice on how to write better lists. Readers like blog posts containing lists. You know: The 7 habits of highly effective writers Top 10 ways
9 simple ways to write infinitely better lists Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Does the act of writing have its own rules? Yes! In fact, I think there are three laws of physics for writing… Do you remember Sir Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion? If a body is at rest it remains at rest or if it
3 laws of physics for writing Read More »
Reading time: Just over 2 minutes Do you have an idea for a book — but no idea how to get started? Here’s a new program on how to write a book or a thesis… I finished writing the first draft of my next book this summer. While I didn’t toast myself
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Have you ever faced the challenge of serving different audiences with your writing? Here’s how I handle that… When our children were about five years old, we started priming them for a key duty. We wanted them to throw us a party for our 25th
How to give readers their just desserts Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Last week I wrote about the benefits of the word yes. Today, I reflect on the advantages of just saying no. I have a bad back. I know I’ve created this back myself, after 30 years of stooping over a computer keyboard and hunching
The benefits of saying no Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes There are five excellent reasons why you should say yes to writing more often. Here is a real-life email from one of my potential clients who wants to write for the theatre. It said: “I’ve put a hold on my play. I’m afraid of the
Why you should say yes to writing Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes My husband and I recently returned from a three-week trip to Europe. Here is part 3 of a three-part series on each of the cities we visited. Today I focus on Vienna with a piece on the importance of accepting help from others. (Part 1, on Amsterdam, and part
Do you let others help you (write)? Read More »
