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.
Word count: 641 words How did you fall in love with writing? Here is my story…. I’ve sounded off many times about the difficulties I’ve had with writing – the horror of producing my honours’ thesis, my mean Scottish editor, and my struggle to stop editing while I wrote. But […]
How did you fall in love with writing? Read More »
Word count: 756 words Reading time: About 3 minutes We all have writing troubles. But how deeply do you understand your own problems?…. The US Department of Transportation has proposed that all new cars be required to have a brake override. The purpose? To disable the accelerator when the brake
What’s your real problem? Read More »
Word count: 697 words Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you ever get stopped in your tracks by writing criticism? Here’s how you should deal with that particular type of “black ice”…. I’d heard the dire warnings on the morning news. “The roads are covered with black ice. It’s
Beware of black ice Read More »
Word count: 748 words Reading time: About 3 minutes Many writers tell me they don’t have difficulty writing — they just don’t know WHAT to write about. Here’s a creative solution if that nitty-gritty problem bugs you…. I once had to interview a neuroscientist for an article I was writing.
Hey, fill in some blanks! Read More »
Word count: 700 words Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you suffer from writing shame? Even if you’re not aware of it, it may be the secret monster that’s sapping your writing strength…. When I was 10 years old, one summer morning I remember standing at my kitchen door,
How to overcome your writing shame Read More »
Word count: 716 words Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you make new year’s resolutions every year? Do any of them relate to writing? Here’s my advice for turbo-charging your resolutions. I’ve never smoked. Even as a sullen, rule-breaking, hitchhiking teenager, I never even tried it. I say this
How writing is like quitting smoking Read More »
Word count: 670 words Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Dorothy Parker hated writing. But she “loved having written.” How do you feel about the process? Do you want to become a happy writer? When I walked home from a client meeting yesterday, I strolled in the dark along the shimmering
How to become a happy writer Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes It’s always essential to know the challenges facing your audience. And no where is this more important than when you’re learning how to write for the Internet… My son is training to become an opera singer. Last week he had his first term recital –
How to write for the Internet Read More »
Word count: 794 words Reading time: Just over 3 minutes Looking for some book suggestions in time for Christmas? I’ve just reached my goal to read 52 books this year. (For more book suggestions, be sure to check out my list from June, as well.) My habit is to post
Recommended books: Christmas 2012 Read More »
Word count: 758 words Reading time: About 3 minutes When I remember to use my SAD light, it helps me. But what else am I forgetting about? Vancouver has mostly a temperate climate. Crocuses start to poke through the dirt in late February or early March and people can be
Let there be light! Read More »
