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: Less than 3 minutes Learn how a fight with a clerk in a back shop reminded me of the importance of not saying no. I have a twitchy back. Like many people, I was born with some scoliosis — an S-curve if you look at the back from the rear. And I […]
A writer’s aching back and the “saying no” problem Read More »
Reading time: 2.5 minutes Did you read last week’s excerpt from William Zinsser’s book? If not, I provide a link to it, below. Most importantly, I give you the grade level at which it was written. Read on for the final part to my series on how to edit like
How to edit, part 4 Read More »
Reading time: 2.5 minutes Have you been wrestling with the idea of readability statistics? Do you see them as unfair? Unliterary? Even illiterate? Here is part 3 of my series on how to become your own best editor. Just about every time I write about readability statistics I hear back
How to edit, part 3 Read More »
Do you struggle with rewriting yourself? Here is part 2 of my series on how to edit like a professional. Following up on last week’s column about how to edit, let me revisit the passage I rewrote and explain what I did and why. Here again is the original piece,
How to edit, part 2 Read More »
Do you ever struggle with rewriting yourself? Here’s the first installment in my 4-part guide on how to edit. There are pros and cons to moving house, as I did recently. On the one hand, you inevitably lose some stuff. I’m still mourning the disappearance of my Kitchen Aid dough
How to edit, part 1 Read More »
Do you want to be a writing star? Here are some suggestions that might help! Blame it on my stroke or my house-move but I lost an expensive piece of software recently. I could have sworn it was installed on my computer but when I checked my hard drive the
5 ways to surprise your boss or client Read More »
Are you prepared to take risks while writing? Let me give you an example of something my husband did recently with his choir. Although it wasn’t a writing activity, it offers at least three lessons worth learning. My husband has a great voice and he loves to sing. Loves it. He’s performed
Don’t back down from a good story Read More »
Have you ever been asked to write a communications plan? Today’s newsletter gives you a clear five-step plan for producing one. Last week I met with a client — the CEO of a non-profit organization — who announced that he wanted a communications plan. Having been around the block a
How to write a communications plan Read More »
Have you ever had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad writing day? And does that make you feel like a crummy wordsmith? Today’s newsletter is designed to put your bad days into some sort of perspective. I opened the freezer door and a sea of green goo puddled towards me. What
Are you having a bad day writing? Read More »
Reading time: About 2 mins. Have you ever wondered about starting your own writing business? Today’s newsletter describes five strategies to help you succeed — despite the economy. Last week I received an email from a longtime copywriter who told me she’d lost her job. Fortunately, she has just the right
How to make money writing in a tough economy Read More »
