There are many characteristics we associate with the image of a writer, such as laid-back, creative, introverted, or imaginative.

But one word we don’t usually use to describe writers is “powerful.”

When you think of power, what kinds of people come to mind? You probably imagine athletes, bodybuilders, superheroes, and CEOs. Those people have a lot of external strength. They have the ability to shape events and make things happen.

However, writers have power of a different kind. What kind of power is this, exactly? The children’s author and teacher E. B. White said, “A writer has the duty to be good, not lousy; true, not false; lively, not dull; accurate, not full of error. He should tend to lift people up, not lower them down. Writers do not merely reflect and interpret life, they inform and shape life.”

As a writer, you have the power to literally shape reality… to impact how people think and see the world… to inform how the public perceives issues… to spark people’s imaginations with stories… to move them to action with your ideas.

Yes, your personality may be shy, introverted, or laid-back. But make no mistake, you have the ultimate power: the ability to change people’s hearts and minds with your words.