As the September blog mistress here at WITS, I'm taking a page out of my personal blog's playbook and marking the beginning of Autumn with a celebration of you.
I'm doing this a few different ways...
First up, we're doing what I call "Pimp & Promote." We try to do this once every few months at More Cowbell and it's a habit I originally picked up from Chuck Wendig.
Note: if Chuck's name is unfamiliar, you are seriously missing out.
For those who are new at this…Pimp and Promote means you:
1. Promote: share one thing that you’re proud of, whether it’s a new book, an idea or a blog.
2. Pimp: Do the same for someone else whose work has lit you on fire this week.
I'll get this party started with a quick promote of the WriterStrong series we started last week here at WITS. August McLaughlin did our inaugural post and we have many, many more to come. I'm very excited about what's coming up here this Fall. We're gonna rock your world. :-)
For my PIMP, I'm going to take a moment to call out the three top commenters here at Writers In The Storm this month. Wordpress lets me see this sort of nifty statistic and today is the perfect time to say thank you!!!
WITS wouldn't be what it is without all of you but these three are the icing on top of our blogging cake this month.
Florence Fois, who many of you know as Ramblings from the Left, is one of most avid commenters here at WITS. It makes me smile whenever I see her name come across my screen. She'll have the effect on you too, I promise.
Ella Quinn participates, engages and even re-blogs our posts. She's a dream blog follower, plus her blog has spice and variety all on it's own.
Gloria Richard makes me laugh all over the blog-o-sphere. She does it at More Cowbell, at her blog, Snark Park, and in a variety of other fun places.
I keep up with these three stellar ladies and I think you should too. Click their names to see an amazing recent post of theirs. Follow them on Twitter. Find them on Facebook.
I promise you’ll be glad you did.
It's your turn to try your hand at this "Pimp and Promote" business. Don't be shy if you're new at this. We'll hold your hand...and approve your comments. You are encouraged to oooh and aaaah over each other's links and then pimp a little more. :-)
Happy Monday, y'all!
Jenny
About Jenny Hansen
Jenny fills her nights with humor: writing memoir, women’s fiction, chick lit, short stories (and chasing after the newly walking Baby Girl). By day, she provides training and social media marketing for an accounting firm. After 15 years as a corporate software trainer, she’s digging this sit down and write thing.
When she’s not at her blog, More Cowbell, Jenny can be found on Twitter at jhansenwrites and here at Writers In The Storm. Every Saturday, she writes the Risky Baby Business posts at More Cowbell, a series that focuses on babies, new parents and high-risk pregnancy.
We're delighted to welcome August McLaughlin as our inaugural guest for the WriterStrong series. She's our go-to person for healthy eating and mental balance, all of which help YOU be BrainStrong.
Please join us in welcoming August by heaping blog love on her in the comments section.
*************
Imagine waking up one day to a blurry world. Faces and objects you normally see clearly are indecipherable fuzz, and when you open your mouth to speak, nothing happens. Desperate to communicate, you try to reach for a pad of paper, your computer—anything. But your hands fall limp.
This is what happened to Jean-Dominique Bauby—the former editor of Elle magazine and author of the novel turned award-winning film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. He wrote the entire book using the one action he could manage: blinking his left eye.
Yes, we writers will write our way through any storm. Take our hands, our feet, our ability to speak or see, or contaminate us with influenza and chances are, we’ll find some way. We cannot afford to lose, however, our minds.
What does the brain need? A few primary things, according to biologists, psychologists and neurologists and extensive research—exercise, glucose and sleep. For optimized function, we also require an nutritious diet.
Eating Your Way to a Healthier Brain by August McLaughlin
1.Eat more fruits and vegetables.We hear this all the time, and for good reason.Antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables—such as berries, citrus fruits, tomatoes and leafy greens—are associated with improved memory and overall brain function, and a reduced risk for cognitive decline.
TIP: Eat at least one serving of fruits or vegetables with breakfast and at least two servings at lunch and dinner. 1 serving = 1 cup fresh or 1/2 cup cooked
2. Swap refined grains for whole. Refined grains, like white flour and instant rice, have had up to 90 percent of their nutritional content stripped away, including nutrients the brain adores. Whole grains, such as brown rice, wild rice, whole wheat, barley, spelt and quinoa, are loaded with brain-boosting nutrients.
TIP: Each shopping trip, buy a new or different whole grain food. Prepare a batch of brown rice, quinoa or whole wheat pasta to enjoy for the next several days.
3. Don’t diet. Dieting doesn’t simply starve your body; it starves your brain. Brain cells require at least twice as much glucose as other cells in your body. Going below your calorie or carbohydrate needs can cause foggy thinking, confusion, headaches, depressive moods, anxiety and creative dullness—not to mention hungry and deprived.
TIP: Instead of fixating on weight loss, focus on eating more nutrient-dense foods (like the ones mentioned here). This boosts your nutritional and brain wellness, and makes healthy weight control a byproduct.
Photo from August McLaughlin
4. Go fish! Fish, particularly cold-water types, like salmon, halibut and sardines, are rich in omega-3 fatty acids—nutrients many Americans lack that play a vital role in brain function. Symptoms of an omega-3 deficiency include depression, mood swings, sleep problems, skin problems and poor memory. (Blech.) The American Heart Association recommends eating fish at least twice per week.
TIP: If you don’t eat fish, incorporate ground flaxseeds, canola oil and/or walnuts into your diet routinely for similar benefits.
5. Caffein-ate with caution. Moderate amounts of caffeine boosts brain function temporarily in some people. Consuming too much, however, or more than 3 cups (8-ounce cups, not Starbucks cups ;)) can offset your blood sugar and hormonal levels, lead to dependency and wreak havoc on your sleep. Caffeine can stay in your system for up to 12 hours, according to the National Sleep Foundation, and the brain is the first thing to suffer from sleep deficits.
TIP: If you gotta have your java, drink it early in the day. Switch to caffeine-free herbal tea later in the day, which provides antioxidants without the insomnia risks.
What habits do you have that rejuvenate your writing brain? Are there particular foods or habits that make you feel sluggish? Do you have any nutrition questions for August? We'd love to hear about them in the comments!
About August
August McLaughlin is a Los Angeles-based writer and author with articles featured regularly by LIVESTRONG.com, EHow Foods, ULMagazine, Healthy Aging Magazine, IAmThatGirl and more.
Before completing her first novel, In Her Shadow, August worked in the fashion, entertainment and wellness industries, wearing hats ranging from Parisian runway model to culinary coach. Considering her longstanding passion for thrillers, she wasn’t surprised when her attempt at a memoir turned quickly into a fictional tale of suspense. She is represented by John Rudolph of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management and is in the midst of completing her second novel, Beauty Complex.
Writers In The Storm is starting a new series this month that we think y’all will love. In addition to our regular contributing bloggers like Kara Lennox, Shannon Donnelly and Susan Spann, we’ll be opening the door to a whole new you with this series of posts.
Many of you have expressed interest in our name.
We chose Writers in the Storm because every writer must weather the storm within – self doubt, rejection, deadlines, and balancing our writing passion with everyday life. Not to mention the storm raging outside - the paradigm shift in the publishing industry. It takes a lot of courage and a lot of tools to survive in this business and we want to do our part to help you be strong.
What do we mean by “strong?”
Think about those New York Times Bestsellers on your auto-buy list. Their writing leaps off the page in technicolor. They’re almost always full of all-around awesome but usually, there’s ONE area where they particularly excel. (We took a quick poll so we could give you examples. :-) )
Linda Howard – Sex
Janet Evanovich – Humor
Stephen King – Horror
Dean Koontz – Evil
Christine Feehan – Otherworldly
Suzanne Collins – Tension
Karen White – Setting
Barbara Samuel - Characterization
Strong writing equals strong sales and there’s a ton of good habits, work and kismet that go toward the making of the strong writer. Writers In The Storm will present blogs over the next few months that target one particular facet of strong writing and really explore it, using writing examples (in the tradition of Margie Lawson) to bring the point home.
There’s a multitude of ways to be strong:
Business Strong
Perseverance Strong
Creativity Strong
Craft Strong
WriterStrong!
We’re brimming with ideas and are excited to get this party started. Our first WriterStrong guest is none other than August McLaughlin, an amazing nutritionist and health writer at LIVESTRONG.com. August will be giving us pointers on how to stay BrainStrong.
Note: Please let us know if you have a recommendation for the WriterStrong series – your feedback is always invaluable!
On Monday, we talked about your innate strengths. Please share them with us in the comments, if you didn't get the chance to do so before. We'd also love to know the areas where you'd like to be even stronger? Who are the authors on your auto-buy list? What makes them so strong??
Fae * Jenny * Laura * Sharla Writers In The Storm Bloggers
