A Fun Way to Play with Your Food ~
Brain Food, That Is ….
Most of us know that walnuts (which bear a great resemblance to brain halves) are nature’s “brain food.” But, what I’m talking about primarily is something different. After a reminder about what constitutes “real” brain food, we’re going to look at some fun and creative ways to stimulate your brain/mind in short, daily challenges that you can keep to yourself or share on Twitter and other social media platforms.
According to Harvard Health. Note: “Walnuts are high in a type of omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Diets rich in ALA and other omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to lower blood pressure and cleaner arteries. That’s good for both the heart and brain.”
This is a health blog; so, before I give you examples of “food for thought,” here is a reminder of other natural foods that are good for brain health.
First – Real Brain Food
Harvard Health shows the details in the chart below. Briefly, research shows that the best brain foods are the same ones that protect your heart and blood vessels.
Brain Food in the Form of Writing Prompts for Poetry and Prose
The kind of intellectual Brain Food I’m enjoying most these days comes from a surprising source – Twitter! Yes, Twitter! That’s because there is a highly interactive #writingcommunity there, and they provide some interesting #wordchallenges (called #prompts) to stimulate creative thinking every day.
I’ll give you a couple of examples, and then you can go to the links I’ll provide to get details and see the kinds of things other people have posted. There, you’ll find the current word challenges so you can join in the fun!
#vss365 #prompt
For example, there is the #vss (very short stories) 365 (every day of the year) #prompt (selected word for the day). You can respond in poetry or prose, but it has to fit into the size allowed for one Tweet. Here’s a corny example of one I did.
#Vss365 #prompt #face
I love Rodney Yee.
He introduced
My #face to my knee.
Optional Photos
To Enhance the Work or Cheat the Twitter Character Count
You do not have to include photos or illustrations, but lots of people do and give credit to the originator of the images.
S
ometimes, I create a PowerPoint and convert it to a JPEG slide, so I can create a collage of images.
I also do it when what I wrote has more characters than Twitter allows. By putting the poem (or prose) into a JPEG slide, I can include the whole work. Then, the text I use in the post is simply the #vss365 #prompt #and the word of the day, like I did (below) for the #prompt “Store.”
Note: If there is room, we put the hashtag # for the day’s prompt into the text we’re submitting, as you can see in this example.
There Is More!
To learn more, click here. That link takes you to my business website where I describe all this in much greater detail.
Other sub-menus under The Occasional Poet (me), tell you how you might be able to display some of your poetry or prose on my website, as well as services I offer in case you want to learn to put your writing into photos, PowerPoints, or videos.
Brain Food. Keep Your Mind Alert. Jump-start Your Creativity and Writing. Have Fun. Expand Your Reader Base. All in the Daily Writing Prompt Challenges. Meet People from All Over the World. It’s addictive!
BraveWrite and From One Line
These are similar in that BraveWrite offers you a word challenge (#prompt), but it gives you a list of the words for the week in one post, like this.
🗣#BraveWrite Prompt Words:
Sept. 16-22, 2021
Sept. 16: Ceasefire
Sept. 17: Seek
Sept. 18: Nonviolence
Sept. 19: Dove🕊
Sept. 20: Global
Sept. 21: United
Sept. 22: Reconciliation
From One Line
From One Line gives you an entire opening line for your poetry or prose. Here are several examples from the beginning of this challenge. There now are over 100 prompts, and new ones are added as time progresses, so I’ve shared the link at the end to show you how to see all of them plus what the latest #prompt is.
LIST OF PROMPTS FROM ONE LINE (If you click on this link, you’ll get a downloadable list of over 100 prompts.)
- I have borrowed words from you
-
There was no way of telling
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When the last shadows fell
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It was left in plain sight
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I hadn’t realised the time
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There are noises in the garden
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He should have done it by now
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It wasn’t always like this
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Her steps were slow and measured
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It was heavier than expected
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They left the light on
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The stone was cold to touch
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I forgot what it was
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He turned back once again
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The tiles were still wet
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It was the last one
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It was two days late
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The fire had gone out
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We all felt the earth move
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I left the lid off
If you’d like to read some of the poems and short stories that these FromOneLine prompts have inspired visit the #FromOneLine search on Twitter. The latest prompt can be found pinned to the top of the @FromOneLine Twitter profile.
Where to Find My Brain Food Tidbits
The fact is I usually have only about 5 minutes to see the daily word prompt, think of an idea, write it and find pictures to match. However, other contributors (from newbies to professionals) spend significant time and thought on their submissions, so you can find some glorious work there to stimulate your own imagination.
You can find many of my posts of this kind on my Social Media Pages. If you want to see them in just one place, Click Here to see a page devoted to #vss365 #prompts on my business website, My Persuasive Presentations, LLC.
Let’s Talk About Brain Food and How I Can Help You
If you would like more information or to take advantage of the writing and editing services I offer on this subject, please email me at MyGetWellGuru@gmail.com and put “Brain Food Inquiry” in the subject line.
I hope you try it and you like it!
Let’s Get Well Stay Well, and Live Well!
