Author Archives: loren

A Quotation From John Stoltenberg

“I felt an urgency to write words that I could stand behind with conviction, words that I could trust to say out in public because I had thrashed them out in private until they were as true as I could … Continue reading

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Achieve Your Writing Goals Tomorrow By Starting Today

Some days, you really feel productive: you are crossing things off your to-do list (or “next actions” list for those GTDers among us) left and right. There’s nothing you can’t do. Other days, it seems as though you spend all … Continue reading

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Don’t Outline — Strategize! Part 2

In the previous article, I discussed recalibrating the way we as writers think about the planning stage of the writing process. I suggested that we think of it as strategizing, just as a general would plan the strategy for a … Continue reading

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A Quotation From Leonard Bernstein

“Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time… The wait is simply too long.” –Leonard Bernstein 

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Don’t Outline — Strategize!

This is part one of a two-part series. It’s easy to love the early stages of writing in which you’re generating ideas.  The only rule of brainstorming is that all ideas are acceptable:  this means that you can feel legitimately … Continue reading

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New Weekly Feature: Links To Love

Sunday is a great day to look back over the past week and plan for the week ahead. With that in mind, I am introducing a new weekly feature here at Writing Power: Links to Love. Each week, I will … Continue reading

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Revise Those New Year’s Resolutions

Okay. It has been one month since many of us made New Year’s Resolutions, and it’s time for a reality check. How are they going? If you’re like most people, your answer is somewhere between “they’re going okay” and “ugh.” … Continue reading

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A Quotation From Stephen King

“You can approach the act of writing with nervousness, excitement, hopefulness, or even despair — the sense that you can never completely put on the page what’s in your mind and heart.  You can come to the act with your … Continue reading

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The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly (Grammar)

America is an incredibly diverse culture. As diverse as we are, though, we seem to have one thing in common: none of us is immune to getting tripped up when it comes to whether we should say “good” or “well.” … Continue reading

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Convene Your Mental Advisory Committee (MAC)

If drafting is about exploring options, revising is about making decisions. Decisions about what you want to say and how you want to communicate it. Decisions about where the heart of your writing is, what’s good, and what’s not. Decisions … Continue reading

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