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 2.5 minutes Did you get scared off of plagiarizing when you were in high school? Certain kinds of copying are certainly not allowed. But other kinds of imitation not only aren’t illegal — they also make a lot of sense! Read on to learn about the fastest way […]
The fastest, easiest way to improve writing Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Have you resolved to buff up your writing by including more stories in it? Here, I give you five solid suggestions for places to find great stories. I’ve written this newsletter for five years now, and while I’m always nervous when I send it out,
5 places for finding great stories Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes “Please, tell me a story.” That’s the devout plea of many of your readers, even non-fiction ones. And, if you tell them a good story, they’ll keep on reading…. A group of judges is gathered in court. But instead of looking grand and imperial in
7 darn good reasons why you should tell me a story Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes I travelled to Calgary to teach this week — and the airline flight provided a clear lesson on the importance of self-editing. Regardless of what my family will tell you, I try really hard not to rant. And by “rant” I mean, “complain in a
Are you ready for your final destination? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes After a gap of many years, I’m suddenly back taking flute lesssons. And who knew they would come with a valuable writing lesson? Read on to learn more. I come from a musical family. My grandmother earned a double degree in piano and violin from
A big writing lesson from my flute teacher Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Have you ever considered any sort of continuing education for your own writing? It’s a great idea but you do need to consider a couple of issues first. Here are my tips. (Thanks to Miriam for the column idea.) I signed up to take a
5 ways to ensure you get a better continuing education Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Today’s column looks at three wildly unrelated topics and finds the key point they all share. I live in Vancouver, the 2010 Olympic host city although, I confess, sports don’t mean much to me. Still, when hockey player Wayne Gretzky lit the cauldron last
About the Olympics, my house and your writing Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Today’s column looks at the important topic of preventing mistakes — and dealing with the ones you haven’t been able to avoid making. I live in a glass house. No, I’m not talking about my own home, which we’re currently renovating. (Project to be finished
My big fat mea culpa for mistakes Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Today’s column looks at the important topic of telling stories — admittedly, through the eyes of a horse! I have never ridden a horse. Nor have I had much interest in them. When I was in my early 20s, a journalist friend of mine was
Writing lessons from a horse? Check out Seabiscuit! Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Today’s column tackles the controversial topic of multitasking. Is it the sign of a highly skilled writer or a totally delusional one? Read on to find out. I work mostly from home and I’m the mother of triplets. In some ways, I think I’m a marvelous
Are you frittering away your life by multitasking? Read More »
