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.
Looking for some book suggestions in time for Christmas? Here’s my roundup based on my reading so far this year. My habit is to post for you the names of all the books I’ve read, twice a year. Last June, I told you about the 27 titles I’d read by […]
Recommended books: Christmas 2013 Read More »
Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Non-fiction writers are usually allergic to making stuff up. But, ironically, many of us struggle with making quotes more believable. Here are some tips…. Have you ever had to “make up” quotes for your boss? This is not such an unusual thing in the world
7 tips for making quotes more believable in your writing Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Many of us have plenty of bad habits. But how many of us have taken the trouble to develop good writing habits? Here is something that always astonishes me: Every time I cite a principle that I’ve mentioned what feels like a million times
More lessons from my piano Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Many of our excuses for not writing might sound convincing, if we don’t think about them too much. But when it comes right down to it, the only person we’re hurting is ourselves. Check out this list and see if any of these excuses
83 excuses for not writing Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Do you have a half-finished manuscript collecting dust in a bottom drawer? A half dozen articles you’ve started but never managed to wrap up? Here are five tips that will help you learn how to finish your writing. In the deliciously-titled fantasy novel, Miss Peregrine’s
5 ways to finish your writing Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Our bodies may start to fall apart as we accumulate years, but if anyone asks me “does writing improve as we age?” I’m ready to answer yes! At age 56 I’m not yet a senior. But I’m starting to become constantly surprised by how young
Why our writing improves as we age Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Do you have enough sentence length variation in what you write? The biggest problem? Most people don’t use nearly enough very short sentences. Perhaps it’s time to consider the age-old question: does length really matter? I’m talking about writing, and sentence length of course. Let’s
Are your sentences the right length? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes It took a less than perfect vacation to remind me of the value of stories…. As vacations go, it was more like a prison sentence. Time: seven days. My husband Eric and I had long planned an October trip to Washington, DC. He’d never
What I learned from my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad vacation Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes It’s no trying to overcome fear of writing. Trust me. I’ve dealt with a bellyful of fear in my lifetime… Here’s the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done: When I was about 25, I went on a spur-of-the-moment hiking trip with an athletic friend who
How to overcome fear of writing Read More »
Reading time: 2 and a half minutes Is perfectionism spoiling your writing? Here’s what you can tell yourself to deal with that problem… I’ve made many mistakes in my life. One of the most embarrassing ones relates to my brief but exciting life as a newspaper books editor in 1984.
It’s a great day to make mistakes Read More »
