12 Ways to Increase Your Brain Power

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  “Nutty with a Dash of Meat Jeanette Levellie” here. We already know how smart you are, since you’re following the CAN blog! But if you’d like to increase your brain power, I believe you’ll enjoy these 12 fun ways. I discovered  the first 11 on brain specialist Dr. Daniel G. Amen’s blog, and the 12th–a fun method I use to stretch my own brain muscles–is my idea. I have also added some of my thoughts to Dr. Amen’s. 1. Learn something new–an obscure president’s name, a variety of flower, even a little-known verse to a song.

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Three Ways to Beat the Writer Blues

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Hi Everyone, it’s Judith Couchman. My assignment for this year focuses on blogging about writing: technique; practical pointers, encouragement, and such. I hope this helps you on the writing journey. Some people call it writer’s block. I call it writer blues. You just can’t face that writing project today, or tomorrow, or next week.  Or you can’t think of a stunning idea. But a deadline looms, and you need a boost. A host of suggestions can help you get unstuck. But rather than overload your brain and schedule, I’m offering a few that work for me.

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Five Ways to Keep Your Brain Healthy and Avoid Dementia

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“Nutty with a Dash of Meat” Jeanette Levellie here, with five ways to keep your brain healthy and circumvent future trouble. No matter your age or current mental state, you can avoid and fight dementia and Alzheimer’s disease The Alzheimer’s Association recommends four simple ways to circumvent these demonic maladies, and I have added one of my own: 

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Slush Pile Stories

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Hello from Crystal Bowman! I’ve been writing for children for more than 20 years and am still learning the process because there is always more to know. I enjoy teaching and mentoring writers and prefer a positive instructional approach. I’d rather tell writers what to do rather than what not to do. But sometimes we can learn from our mistakes and even the mistakes of others. So this post is going to focus more on what not to do in order to keep your children’s story from landing in the slush pile.

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For a Happier New Year: Replace Your Resolutions with Attainable Goals

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“Nutty with a Dash of Meat” Jeanette Levellie here. I never make New Year’s resolutions. I’m too hard on myself when I break them–which I always do. Then I end up feeling guilty, and that’s a waste of time. So to make each New Year a happy one, I set attainable goals instead. I post them on my bedroom wall, where I review them every few weeks to remind myself of what I’m shooting for. I have six month goals, one year goals, five- year goals, even lifetime goals. But I have noticed something about them over the years. They change.

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Readers Wait for Your Words (Really!)

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On Christmas Eve, Iceland celebrates the national tradition of Jólabókaflóð, the “Christmas Book Flood. That evening, Icelanders anticipate and enjoy exchanging books. After they open and admire their books, family members retire to their individual beds and read themselves to sleep. This literary tradition traces back to World War II, when the government restricted currency and imported gifts. In contrast, Icelanders enjoyed a flux of money because of the war. Fortunately, restrictions on imported paper remained lenient and books burgeoned as the country’s most popular gift for Christmas. Fast forward to today and the holiday-reading tradition virtually supports the book-publishing industry.  According…

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M is for Manger

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Hello from children’s author Crystal Bowman! I love the challenge of writing for children, and I love teaching other writers the craft of writing for children. In previous blogs I’ve talked about the many different genres of children’s literature as well as sharing tips on writing for children. Today I want to give you an inside look into how I got my most recent book published.

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Editing Tips #47

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Hi! I’m Kathy Ide. In addition to being a published author, I’m a full-time professional freelance editor. For CAN, I’m blogging about tips for writers based on the most common mistakes I see in the manuscripts I edit.

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