As a writer, maintaining focus and sustaining energy levels throughout the day can be challenging. However, making small changes to your diet can have a significant impact on your productivity and overall well-being. Consuming a balanced diet that includes foods rich in complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals can help you stay focused, alert, and energized. In this list, we’ve compiled five foods that writers can incorporate into their diet to help them maintain their energy and focus levels and reduce mental fatigue
Here are five foods that writers can consume to help maintain their energy and focus:
Nuts and Seeds: Nuts and seeds are a great source of healthy fats, protein, and fiber. They can provide a sustained source of energy and help to keep you feeling full for longer periods of time. Almonds, walnuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds are all great options.
Whole Grains: Whole grains are another excellent source of sustained energy. They are a rich source of complex carbs, fiber, and B vitamins. Examples of whole grains include brown rice, quinoa, oatmeal, whole-wheat bread, and barley.
Fruits and Vegetables: Fruits and vegetables are important sources of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that can help to support brain function and protect against oxidative stress. Berries, leafy greens, broccoli, sweet potatoes, and citrus fruits are all great options.
Dark Chocolate: Dark chocolate contains caffeine and flavonoids, which can help to improve cognitive function and reduce mental fatigue. Just be sure to choose dark chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa (70% or higher) and consume it in moderation.
Water: Staying hydrated is essential for maintaining energy and focus throughout the day. Aim to drink at least 8 glasses of water per day, and consider sipping on herbal tea or coconut water for added hydration and nutrients.
Here’s where you’ll find some of the most forward-thinking, tools if you are a fiction writer. The toolbox offered includes books to read, notebooks and notebook apps, writing software, grammar and style guides, and more.
A great list of tools for self-published authors who want to earn more
Writing is amazing. But it can be even more amazing if your books are purchased by readers who love and appreciate your work. This list of tools steps up and helps self-published authors write better, faster, and become more adept at book sales.
This round-up is a one-stop shop for all your writing tools
Not only do you get a comprehensive list of writing tools, this list includes some ‘must have’ tools like plagiarism checkers, writing timers to make sure you get your required writing minutes down every day. There are also tools that help with distraction and keeping you focused. There are also dictation tools, and tools that help you craft your story line.
I recently shared an article discussing books that had been turned into movies. While many books have been turned into movies, there’s another medium that they’ve also been popularly adapted into, and that’s television. With the introduction of streaming services, there has been an abundance of TV being made, and in some cases, television can be a better format for adapting denser books or book series into film. Here are just a few popular books that have been adapted into television series.
Game of Thrones
Based on the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones was quite the phenomenon, becoming one of the most popular television shows of all time during its run. The show is known for its various characters and storylines, such as the infamous Red Wedding episode. Readers of the books may have gotten an edge over those who watched the earlier seasons, but by the end of the show, the show had already started to veer away from the source material.
Poldark
“Poldark,” which is a television show produced by PBS, is based on Winston Graham’s book series. The series had an adaptation that ran for two seasons in the 1970s and has since been reimagined for new audiences in 2015. The story follows Ross Poldark, an American Revolution veteran, as he returns home to England after the war. Things aren’t the way he left them when he returns home though. In the fifth season of the current run of “Poldark,” the writers decided to introduce an original plot that differed from the book series by Graham.
Outlander
Based on Diana Gabaldon’s book series, “Outlander,” which is produced by Starz, follows a WWII combat nurse who is sent back in time to 1743 Scotland. She must face her own mortality as she tries to protect her life while navigating through time travel. This becomes an even more difficult task when she realizes she’s in love with two different men – one from her time, and one from the past to which she has been sent back.
The Queen’s Gambit
Based on the Walter Tevis book series, “The Queen’s Gambit” follows the story of Beth Harmon, an orphan chess player who eventually becomes a US champion. The book and the limited series examine the cost of greatness, as she continues to improve and develop her abilities as a chess player. The show became an instant success on Netflix, and the company even claimed that it was their biggest limited series yet.
Killing Eve
The television show “Killing Eve,” which is based on the novellas by Luke Jennings, follows the story of Eve, a disenchanted M15 officer who is tasked with tracking down Villanelle, an unpredictable and elusive assassin. Throughout the story, the two become obsessed with each other while playing an addictive game of cat and mouse.
Reading a good book is one of the greatest experiences a person can have. Unfortunately, it often feels as if our kids are reading less and less with each passing year. Newer, easier-to-digest content is constantly coming out and it can be a struggle to get your children to sit down and enjoy a good book. So how do we get them to discover the wonderful world of reading? Here are a few tips.
Read With Them Before Bed
One of the best ways to get your kids to start reading on their own is by reading with them every evening before they go to bed. Let them pick a book and then you read it to them little by little. Make it fun by acting out each scene, or talking to them a little bit about the story. You can ask them about their favorite characters, or what they think will happen next. By making reading exciting, they’re more likely to pick up a book themselves.
Read The Same Books As Them
While you may not get the same enjoyment out of them as your child will, reading the same book as them can be a rather easy way to convince them to pick up a book and read. Having someone else who is also reading the same book they’re reading gives them someone to discuss it with, making them more excited to get to the next page.
Bring Them To The Library
We may not think about them that often, but libraries are still extremely prevalent today. A great way to get your kids to want to read is by bringing them to a library. Turn it into a special trip, where they get to go and look through the library and pick a few books out. This will make them more excited about reading and finishing their books, as then they can go back to the library and pick out a new one.
Remember That Any Book Is A Good Book
When we think of getting our kids to read, we probably often think of stories that can transport our children to far-off lands. While those are some of the more common things our kids read, that doesn’t have to be the only thing! Perhaps your child is into dinosaurs, or they’re into cars. Maybe they like sealife, or want to know more bout airplanes. Instead of giving them fiction books, give them books that teach them about these things. As long as they’re reading something, that’s all that truly matters. Just be sure you’re giving them age-appropriate content.
SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE—The #1 New York Times bestselling worldwide sensation with more than 12 million copies sold, hailed by The New York Times Book Review as “a painfully beautiful first novel that is at once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative and a celebration of nature.”
2. Anatomy of a Scandal: A Novel Paperback – October 2, 2018
SOON TO BE A HULU ORIGINAL SERIES • From the New York Times bestselling author of Normal People . . . “[A] cult-hit . . . [a] sharply realistic comedy of adultery and friendship.”—Entertainment Weekly
4. She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement
“An instant classic of investigative journalism…‘All the President’s Men’ for the Me Too era.” — Carlos Lozada, The Washington Post
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters who broke the news of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual harassment and abuse for the New York Times, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, the thrilling untold story of their investigation and its consequences for the #MeToo movement
5. The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer I Turned Pretty, The) Paperback – April 6, 2010
by Jenny Han (Author) Soon to be a streaming series in Summer 2022!
Belly has an unforgettable summer in this stunning start to the Summer I Turned Pretty series from the New York Times bestselling author of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (now a major motion picture!), Jenny Han.
Writing can be a very fulfilling experience, and it can be a lot of fun as well. The problem is that when there’s so much content out there, it can be hard to keep your readers engaged with your writing. A great way to do this is to add some humor to your writing. Humor is a great way to keep people glued to the page, especially if you can get your point across regardless of the humor. But how do you add humor to your writing? Here are a few tips to help you out.
Timing Is Everything
The goal of comedy writing is to create small narrative arcs that culminate with a funny ending. This strategy can help you build a compelling story and keep the audience laughing until the end. Instead of trying to force a laugh, make sure that you’re thoughtful and deliberate about what you’re saying.
Short and Sweet
Stand-up comedians often have long setups for their jokes as part of their act. They’re there to tell funny short stories, and they’re not there to dominate the narrative. When writing comedy, make sure that the setup is short and sweet. Focus on the narrative, and throw good jokes into the story as you go. Readers will lose interest if the whole thing takes too long to tell.
Use Cliches In A Surprising Way
Although it’s usually frowned upon by writers, using clichés can still create some humor in a story. For instance, the phrase “They lived happily ever after” is a common one used in fairy tales. However, it can also be used in different ways, such as “They lived happily ever…after until she met her real soulmate.”
Be Absurd
One of the most effective ways to add humor to a story is by stretching the reality of what’s happening in the story. For instance, if you’re saying that you’re so hungry that you could eat a horse, this statement can emphasize a point. Absurdity often works well when it comes to allowing people to suspend their reality and better accept outrageous situations meant to make them laugh.
Pick A Target Audience
One of the most important factors that a comedian must consider when it comes to adding humor to his or her work is the target audience. A good joke that’s funny for one audience might not work for another. Your audience should be able to relate to the subjects that you’re trying to address.
Are you terrified of marketing your book? Do you have it ready to go (or already published), but you feel stuck because you don’t know what to do next? Book marketing can feel like you’re never doing enough. It can seem impossible. How do you know if you’re focusing on the right marketing tactics? How do you know which strategy will work for you? What if you’re missing something? We’re here to help! Bethany Atazadeh and Mandi Lynn have each successfully marketed multiple novels and want to help you discover the best marketing tactics for YOU—starting with the book itself. Your book is your MOST powerful marketing tool.
Online Marketing for Busy Authors: A Step-by-Step Guide
If You Want People to Read Your Book, Writing It Is Only the Beginning
There has truly never been a better time to be an author. For the first time, authors have direct access to the public via the Internet—and can create a community eagerly awaiting their book. But where do new authors start? How do they sort through the dizzying range of online options? Where should they spend their time online and what should they be doing?
Have you written a book that just isn’t selling? Would you like the launch of your next one to be different?
Launch to Market provides a simple system to plan, track, and execute your book launch. It covers the basics of marketing in an easy-to-understand way, complete with exercises that will prepare you for your best launch ever.
Successful Book Launch Secrets: Book Marketing Tips From a Bestselling Author to Make YOU a Book Marketing Hero (The Christian Author’s Guide)
A book can be exceptionally useful in growing a business, yet not generally. Before you make a plunge, giving it genuine thought’s significant. Composing and cleaning a book requires additional time and exertion than the vast majority think, whether you work with a business distributer or independently publish. As a business person, you must adjust that against different requests on your time-like maintaining your business.
Spring is set to arrive in the next few days and with it the hope of renewal and new life. While the current state of the world might invoke fear and apprehension in many, one cannot forget the beauty of nature and the blossoming of life. For many, new reading material is part and parcel of the change of the seasons. The following books represent some of the best new novels for spring and are sure to be big hits at bookstores around the country.
The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk
Olga Tokarczuk’s The Books of Jacob is a historical epic following the life of Jacob Frank, a Jewish man who lived in 18th Century Poland and claimed to be the messiah. At nearly a thousand pages, The Books of Jacob follows a third-person narrative style, transporting readers into the minds of those around Frank. First published in Poland in 2014, the novel won Tokarczuk the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2018. While readers might find Frank’s ideas on morality questionable, reviewers say that it is a modern masterpiece that lives up to the expectations of a sprawling epic.
To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara is an alternate history novel centering on what would have happened had the United States split into multiple countries following the Civil War. Yanagihara divides her novel into three different epochs 100 years apart as characters change appearance and identity with the sands of times. The final moments of To Paradise take place in the dark reality of 2093, where dystopian governments race to control pandemics that are the scourge of humanity. While praising Yanagihara’s ambition, reviewers warn that To Paradise’s multiple time jumps and complex narrative will confuse readers while nevertheless providing awe-inspiring storytelling.
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart Douglas Stuart’s Young Mungo is a follow-up to his debut novel Shuggie Bain, which was itself a critical and commercial darling when it was released in 2020. Described as a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet, the book follows two men from Glasgow as they fall in love for the first time. The duo’s blossoming romance is complicated, however, by tensions between their working-class families and culturally ingrained ideas of masculinity. Reviews of Young Mungo say that despite the novel’s grim narrative, it nevertheless leaves readers with a sense of hope.
The science of neuroplasticity demonstrates that our brains can and do change. We each not only have the power but use the power to create new neural pathways — for better or for worse. This science has demonstrated that we can create pathways that lead to resilience, vitality, greater peace of mind, and improved well-being.
Self-directed neuroplasticity is a method of accelerating neurological change through expressive writing. It’s what happens when you harness the power of your pen or keyboard in service of intention, attention, and action for your greater good.
This workbook of expressive writing for brain change can lead to increased well-being. As you learn and apply the principles of neuroplasticity to your own life, staged and sequenced through masterful application of writing techniques designed to promote positive brain change, improved satisfaction will not be far behind.
Fire Up Your Writing Brain: How to Use Proven Neuroscience to Become a More Creative, Productive, and Successful Writer
Whether you’re an experienced writer or just starting out, an endless number of pitfalls can trip up your efforts, from procrastination and writer’s block to thin characters and uninspired plots. Luckily, you have access to an extraordinary writing tool that can help overcome all of these problems: your brain.
Fire Up Your Writing Brain teaches you how to develop your brain to its fullest potential. Based on proven, easy-to-understand neuroscience, this book details ways to stimulate, nurture, and hone your brain into the ultimate writing tool.
Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere)
Following on the heels of Lisa Cron’s breakout first book, Wired for Story, this writing guide reveals how to use cognitive storytelling strategies to build a scene-by-scene blueprint for a riveting story.
It’s every novelist’s greatest fear: pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into writing hundreds of pages only to realize that their story has no sense of urgency, no internal logic, and so is a page one rewrite.
The prevailing wisdom in the writing community is that there are just two ways around this problem: pantsing (winging it) and plotting (focusing on the external plot). Story coach Lisa Cron has spent her career discovering why these methods don’t work and coming up with a powerful alternative, based on the science behind what our brains are wired to crave in every story we read (and it’s not what you think).
The Power of Writing It Down: A Simple Habit to Unlock Your Brain and Reimagine
For anyone who’s trying to make sense of their life, who wants to get unstuck from the patterns that hold them back, hear this incredible news: everything you need for the freedom you want is entirely within reach. This practice and pathway is free, it’s readily available every day of your life, it takes just minutes of your time, and anyone can do it.
Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence
Imagine knowing what the brain craves from every tale it encounters, what fuels the success of any great story, and what keeps readers transfixed. Wired for Story reveals these cognitive secrets—and it’s a game-changer for anyone who has ever set pen to paper.
Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence Paperback – July 10, 2012 by Lisa Cron (Author)
Well, resolutions have rolled around once again so here are some resources to get those resolutions started. Whether it’s weight loss, fitness, mindfulness, stress reduction, or clearing out that clutter – here are some great books to get you started!
Never Binge Again(tm): How Thousands of People Have Stopped Overeating and Binge Eating – and Stuck to the Diet of Their Choice! (By Reprogramming Themselves to Think Differently About Food.)
If you struggle with binge eating, emotional eating, stress eating, or if you repeatedly manage to lose weight only to gain it all back, you may be approaching things with the wrong mindset. Most contemporary thought on overeating and bingeing focuses on healing and self-love. But people who’ve overcome food addiction and weight issues often report it was more like capturing and caging a rabid dog than learning to love their inner child… Open the cage even an inch—or show that dog an ounce of fear—and it’ll quickly burst out to shred your healthy eating plans, undoing all your progress in a heartbeat. From his perspective as a formerly food-obsessed psychologist—and previous consultant to major food manufacturers—Dr. Livingston shares specific techniques for isolating and permanently dis-empowering your “fat thinking self.” He reveals much of his own personal journey in the process.
The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation (Muscle for Life)
Have you ever gotten into the car after a long day at work and headed straight for the couch instead of the gym?
Have you ever been unable to stop hitting the snooze button in the morning? Have you even felt secretly afraid you just don’t have what it takes to transform your body and health? Welcome to the club.
Working out and eating right takes time, energy, effort, discipline, dedication, and patience, and life always finds ways to interfere with our intentions and tempt us to stray. And here’s the ground truth:
It doesn’t ever get easier—we just have to get better. This book will help you get better.
Practicing Mindfulness: 75 Essential Meditations to Reduce Stress, Improve Mental Health, and Find Peace in the Everyday
Mindfulness is an evidence-based method for reducing stress, enhancing resilience, and maintaining mental well-being. Even short meditations can turn a bad day around, ground us in the present moment, and help us approach life with gratitude and kindness.
Practicing Mindfulness was created by the founder of One Mind Dharma. He developed these 75 essential exercises to offer practical guidance for anyone who wants to realize the benefits of mindful meditation. This includes expert advice on dealing with distorted or wandering thoughts and how to handle mental blocks.
Early meditations in Practicing Mindfulness take just 5 minutes and are highly accessible. As they progress, exercises grow with the reader, building on previous lessons to develop a transformative mindfulness practice. With meditations designed for specific situations or emotions, even experienced practitioners will have a continuing resource for mindfulness at every moment.
Begin a journey of peace and patience today on the path to a calmer, more balanced life with Practicing Mindfulness.
The Self Care Prescription: Powerful Solutions to Manage Stress, Reduce Anxiety & Increase Wellbeing
Picture your best life: Where would you work? What would your social calendar look like? What personal interests would you be exploring? This book is your prescription to turn those visions into a reality―with proven self care strategies for every area of your life.
The Self Care Prescription empowers you to find balance and purpose in your relationships, work, and life. From creating a plan to spend more time with family and friends, to zeroing-in on a career that you can feel good about, the book will help you create a personalized self care plan. You’ll also learn actionable techniques to fight anxiety, demotivation, or whatever else is holding you back from building the life you want to live.
Journal for Cleaning & Decorating, for Fans of Cluttered Mess)
From the Host of HGTV’s HOT MESS HOUSE
#1 Best Seller in Cleaning, Caretaking & Relocating; Home Improvement & Decorating; Journaling; Personal Time Management; and Motivational Self-Help
A guided decluttering journal. Life happens to the best of us, whether we were born with messy tendencies or not. Messes find their way into our homes and lives and we can’t seem to find the strength or time to tackle them. That’s where this motivational guided journal by decluttering guru Cassandra Aarssen comes in.
Tested methods that work. Cas Aarssen wasn’t always an organization expert. She climbed out of years of cluttered living and transformed her home and her life through organization. In this self-help journal, Cas guides you through favorite tips and tricks that she used to declutter her home and find her way to a more organized and peaceful life.
Pages and pages of decluttering and organizational tools. This interactive journal is designed to help you declutter your home and life through mindfulness and self-motivation. Learn how to navigate the chaos of clutter by taking the time to understand yourself and the underlying meaning behind your clutter. Filled with inspiration and open-ended questions, The Declutter Challenge journal guides you onto the path to a clean and clutter-free home.
Make downsizing a reality.The Declutter Challenge helps you to work through both the emotional and the physical clutter in your life. Explore your thoughts and feelings about your belongings and discover the knowledge and strength to let go of excess.
