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 2 minutes If you’re anything like me, you’ve been watching the news for weeks, obsessively following the U.S. election. So how do you write in times like these? Today, I give you some suggestions…. Today is the most anticipated election in my lifetime. A friend of mine […]
How do you write in times like these? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes You probably already know to write in active rather than passive voice. But did you also know that an active mindset is better than a passive one? I grew up in a troubled household. We were a family of seven, and I was the eldest
Do you have an active mindset or a passive one? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes I used to be a night person who wrote best at 1 a.m. Even though I mysteriously turned into a morning lark 10 years ago, I’m still sympathetic to those who prefer nights. Here’s how to write if you’re a night owl… Here’s what I’d
How to write if you’re a night owl Read More »
Back in the era of Mad Men, secretaries went into the offices of people like Don Draper (photo above) and took shorthand while he dictated. Now, however, you don’t need a secretary to be able to dictate…
Why you should dictate rather than write by hand Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes If you want to become a better writer, it might surprise you to know some of the simple steps you can take… As a writing coach with 45 years of experience guiding thousands of writers, I’ve discovered a number of obvious — and not-so-obvious —
7 obvious and not-so-obvious ways to become a better writer Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes If you’ve ever been proud of something you find easy to do, ask yourself this: Can talents become weaknesses? I’m what you might call a “born” editor. I started editing when I was in high school. My papers. My friends’ papers. I thought it was
Can talents become weaknesses? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes If I asked you to compare your writing to an animal, is it possible you’d say you enjoy writing like a shark? When you read the headline “writing like a shark,” you might have thought I was going to talk about writing that is aggressive,
The problem with writing like a shark Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes If you’re inclined to delay, postpone or procrastinate, here’s an argument for why you should start writing today… I talk with a lot of people who want to write… eventually. They have an idea for a book. There’s a blog they want to contribute to
What learning French has to do with writing Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes There comes a time when you should stop reading, start writing. To figure out if this advice applies to you, calculate how many writing books you have on your shelves… How many books on writing do you own? How much time do you spend thinking about
When you should stop reading, start writing Read More »
Reading time: Just over 3 minutes Reducing writing shame should be one of your goals if you ever suffer from this supremely uncomfortable and unhelpful emotion…. Are you proud of your ability to write? Or do you secretly feel embarrassed, worried or even ashamed about it? Let me begin by
How to reduce writing shame Read More »
