Elizabeth Whitworth, Author at Shortform Books

Dr. Becky: Separation Anxiety & Bedtime Struggles Are Solvable

Is your child afraid to be away from you, even when just going to bed? What’s the anxiety really about? According to Dr. Becky, separation anxiety results from your child’s natural wiring. Children need to feel safe, and their sense of security comes largely from their parents’ presence. Dr. Becky shares several tools you can use to soothe separation anxiety, especially at bedtime. Continue reading to discover how to put these strategies into practice in your family.

An Introduction to Body Language: 2 Tips to Understand Its Context

How confident are you that you can read body language accurately? Do you know how to read cues collectively or just individually? You can use many body language cues to reliably and consistently assess someone’s emotional state. But, retired FBI Special Agent Joe Navarro says that there are some contextual factors to consider before forming conclusions based on your observations. Read more to get an introduction to body language from Navarro by exploring two of his tips for assessing the context of cues.

How to Stay Creative: 4 Ways to Maintain Your Inspiration

Do you make time for unstructured creativity? Do you tend toward perfectionism? How often do you unplug from technology? According to many creative professionals and productivity experts, creativity is the result of consistent work habits coupled with a creative mindset. You can foster such a mindset by prioritizing unstructured creativity, rejecting perfectionism, leaning into challenges, and taking opportunities to unplug. Keep reading to learn how to stay creative by following this recipe.

Wired for Story by Lisa Cron: Book Overview & Takeaways

Why is it hard to explain what makes a story good? How does that impact our ability to write good stories? What can we do to overcome that difficulty and craft interesting narratives? In Wired for Story, Lisa Cron argues that our brains evolved to absorb information through stories. So, writers who want to create compelling narratives should write in a way that satisfies our brains’ expectations of story. Continue reading for an overview of this book that takes a fresh approach to story writing.

Becky Kennedy’s Good Inside: Book Overview & Takeaways

Are you letting a negativity bias affect your parenting? How can you get your kids to actually want to be obedient? When is silliness an effective parenting technique? Becky Kennedy’s Good Inside helps parents effect sustainable behavior changes in their kids while building positive relationships with them. Our overview lays out Kennedy’s core principles, her toolkit for dealing with challenging behavior, and explanations and solutions for common parenting challenges. Continue reading for an overview of this practical parenting manual.

How to Tell if Someone Is Anxious Through Body Language

Can you tell when someone is anxious? Is sweating always a sign of stress? If you were able to detect when someone else is stressed out, imagine how helpful it would be to be able to adjust your own words and behavior accordingly. In The Dictionary of Body Language, retired FBI Special Agent Joe Navarro shares four common anxious body language cues. Keep reading to learn how to tell if someone is anxious by interpreting their body language.

Why Do People Like Stories? How Stories Appeal to the Brain

Why do people like stories? What answer can we find in the reason why storytelling developed in the first place? Stories aren’t just entertaining; they also satisfy a neurological need that humans evolved over millennia. That’s the view of Lisa Cron, who argues that our brains evolved to absorb important survival information through stories. Read more to understand why Cron urges writers to write in a way that satisfies our brains’ expectations of a story.

How to Raise Deeply Feeling Kids: 2 Tools From Dr. Becky

Do you have a child who seems to be immune from basic parenting strategies? Do you feel like you’ve tried everything and still get resistance? If you answered “Yes” to these questions, you might have a “deeply feeling kid.” Dr. Becky Kennedy uses this term to describe a child who experiences intense feelings and, as a result, exhibits intense reactions and behaviors. She provides two tools that are designed to reach deeply feeling kids. Read more to learn about children who feel deeply and to understand what they need.

Bored Body Language: 2 Ways to Tell if Someone Is Checked Out

Can you tell when someone is bored or impatient? Do they just look at their watch or twiddle their thumbs? Retired FBI Special Agent Joe Navarro knows how to read people, and he wants to help you learn to interpret nonverbal communication. In his book The Dictionary of Body Language, he teaches you how to read emotions by understanding subtle cues in people’s physical behavior. Continue reading to learn how to detect bored body language in people and determine that they’re probably checked out.

What Are the Elements of a Narrative? The 4 Ingredients

What are the elements of a narrative? What story ingredients do our brains expect to find? Writer and producer Lisa Cron contends that humans require stories to engage our brains in the way our brains process information. She believes that we developed certain expectations for narratives. So, if a writer wants to engage readers’ brains, they must provide these expected elements. Keep reading to learn what these essential ingredients are and why they meet readers’ cravings.