Happy holidays
There’s no Power Writing from me today as I’m taking some time off this week to celebrate Christmas and the new year. I hope you get a break, too, and I’ll be back in time for next week’s post, Dec. 31. Happy New Year! […]
Power Writing
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.
How to protect your mental health for writing in December
Reading time: About 3 minutes If Christmastime ever makes you sad, make sure you take some steps to protect your mental health for writing in December… Now the calendar has flipped to December, your mind has probably turned to Christmas. For some people, however, Christmas is a time of stress
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Recommended books: winter 2024
Reading time: About 6 minutes (faster if you scan) Looking for some recommended books in time for Christmas reading or gift-giving? Here’s my semi-annual roundup of books I’ve read this year. I aim to read at least 52 books every 12 months, and my habit is to post a complete
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Why you shouldn’t pull all-nighters…
Reading time: About 3 minutes All-nighters not only cost you sleep, they also set you up for a self-defeating writing habit… Do you ever pull all-nighters? When I was a university student, I did them all the time. It helped that I was already a night owl and that I
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How to hire a coach
Reading time: About 2 minutes If you need help with your writing, for goodness’ sake, learn how to hire a coach! When should you look for help with your writing? Well, most people don’t look for a personal trainer when they’re already in shape. Nor do they go to a
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How do you write in times like these?
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
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Do you have an active mindset or a passive one?
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
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How to write if you’re a night owl
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
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Why you should dictate rather than write by hand
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…
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7 obvious and not-so-obvious ways to become a better writer
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 —
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