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: Just over 3 minutes If you’ve ever vowed to stop editing while you write, here’s a tool that will really make you want to keep that promise. Watch the video to see how writers waste time, editing while they write… Do you have difficulty writing your crappy first draft? Anguishing over every comma […]
How to see yourself in a writing mirror Read More »
Reading time: Just over 3 minutes You may hate technology or love it but at least be aware of how the Internet is improving writing… I graduated from high school 40 years ago this June. (Yikes! Time doesn’t just fly. It’s rocket-propelled.) Back in this mesolithic era, teachers moaned about… the loss of our attention,
How the Internet is improving writing Read More »
Reading time: Just over 3 minutes In the 25 years I spent as a wage slave (an employee, rather than a contractor) I had exactly ONE good supervisor. But I learned plenty about how to write for a bad boss…. I was standing in the middle of the newsroom — an open-area office with about 115 people —
How to write for a bad, hard-to-please boss Read More »
Reading time: Just over 5 minutes You have a book in you. I know you do! Here’s how to get it out of your head and down on paper. Here’s how to write your book… There are many ways to do anything and I don’t delude myself that I offer the only feasible plan for
How to write your book Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Hands up if you spend too much time on your email. This pseudo-work is not helping you and may be exactly what’s preventing you from achieving your writing goals… Have you ever emailed me? If so, you likely received a reply in less than 24 hours. Yet I refuse
How to stop using email to procrastinate Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Did you know you could rewire your brain? And doing so might just be the first step you need to take to become a better writer… I’ve always been deeply fascinated by the human brain. Perhaps never more so than following my two strokes in 2002 and 2007. Despite having
How to rewire your brain for better writing Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you find it difficult to let go of your writing? Here are some of the reasons why — and exactly what you can do about them… My three children are approaching the end of their college careers. We’re lucky in that they’ve been able to live at home
How to let go of your writing Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes People often laugh when I use the phrase “crappy first draft,” but I’m serious about it. Producing one is exactly what will turn you into a professional writer… Every beginning writer I know abhors the idea of a crappy first draft. It’s embarrassing, mortifying and humiliating. They know their boss or
The JOY of the crappy first draft Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you suffer from the toxic combination of writing and perfectionism? If so, I suspect the heart of the issue may be your own grandiosity… I’m not typically grandiose about my writing but I do have overblown, elaborate or pretentious moments in other parts of my life. I’m thinking,
Is grandiosity hurting your writing? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Has anyone ever told you that sitting is the new smoking? Here’s what I’m doing about that…. I didn’t make a new year’s resolution to use a standing desk. It just kind of crept up on me… If you’ve read my column for any length of time you’ll know
Hello, meet my new standing desk Read More »