Writing Prompt: Profile Bloggers Pawlik-Kienlen, Joy, Cipressi, Lundquist, and Rubin

Today’s Sub-Theme – Positive

64 days and counting until November’s NaNonWriMo 2013. Are you ready?

Our tenth sub-theme in August’s “All About You” theme is “positive.” Each of today’s featured bloggers writes about a variety of things in a positive way. Whether through joy, happiness, shifts in the mindset, starting over, or living your best life, the manner in which our featured bloggers write exemplifies beautifully what it means to be positive.

Today, your job is to write a profile on bloggers Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen, Joy, Joanne Cipressi, Shelley Lundquist, and Gretchen Rubin.

Recap: List of Featured Bloggers

In this space, we will keep a running list of all the bloggers we are featuring in August.

August 2 – Women, God, and Faith: Kirra Antrobus, Maia Duerr, Rachel, Rachel Barenblatt, and Katie Orr.
August 5 – Food Bloggers: Michael Lee West, Tara Kuczykowski, and Robyn Stone.
August 7 – Braniacs: Melanie Martilla, Marc Nash, Val Hudgins, Claudette Young, and Meena Rose.
August 9 – Photojournalists: Darlisa Black, Veronica Roth, Alik Sumin, and Arnoldo Romero.
August 12 – Inspirational folks: Maribel Steel, Beryl Ayn Young, Rachel Macy Stafford, and JoAnn J.A. Jordan.
August 14 – Dad bloggers – Michael Stelzner, Aaron Brinker, Brian Klems, and Oren Miller.
August 16 – Mom bloggers – Sam Kemp-Jackson, Jamie Meteer, Anne Kimball, and J.D. Bailey.
August 19 – Standout blogger – Kiril Kundurazieff
August 21 – Standout blogger – Nina Amir
August 23 – Standout blogger – Your favorite blogger!
August 26 – Passionate Redheads – MamaRed Knight (Jerilynne Knight), Cathie Filian, Sherry Riter, Joy Weese Moll, and Denise Wakeman.
August 28 – Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen, Joy, Joanne Cipressi, Shelley Lundquist, and Gretchen Rubin.

Creative Idea Gal’s Thoughts

Writing about things in a positive way is an art form that requires an unflappable belief system in oneself and humanity. We all have problems, and as many people phrase it, we all “have crosses to bear.” Yes, that is a spiritual reference, but it is meant to signify the fact that we are all made in the image of the creator, irrespective of what name you choose to call the creator, and because of that fact, our crosses (problems) are for all of us to bear.

Because we all have crosses to bear and we are all born with different coping mechanisms and strengths, our individual responses to life’s trials and tribulations are all creatively unique. I, for one, could not classify myself as a positive writer although I am currently writing a book on faith because I often analyze things. Critical analysis of people and things is like a curious hobby that borders on psychoanalysis. It’s not always positive, but it is deeply introspective, and interesting.

The true positive bloggers, such as today’s featured bloggers, do not delve into hardcore analysis of why bad things happen. They are too busy singing songs of gratitude, hope, and creativity in colorful ways. As always, your job is to pick up on the finer nuances of each blogger. What is their style? How do they write? What things do they focus on?

Creative Idea Gal’s Softball Questions for Today’s Bloggers

My questions for today’s featured bloggers are like a writing prompt within a prompt. The featured bloggers are strongly encouraged (but not required to) answer my questions. It is best for the featured bloggers to answer my questions on their own blogs and post those permalinks here on WNFIN.com.

Thank you so much to Melanie Marttila, Marc Nash, Kirra Antrobus, Maribel Steel, and Anne Kimball for already answering my questions!

 

Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen

 

(1) You have cited your spirituality as the energy source that has helped you get through life transitions. Do you think spirituality appeals to people? Are you inclined to read about the spirituality of others?

(2) What exactly is meant by “Weekly on ‘Newbies’”? Is that like a guide to help people who are new to your blog?

(3) You offer practical tips on transitions that are sure to help people. Do you have plans to turn your blog posts into a longer series and eventually publish them as a book?

(4) Has your call to feature bloggers with life transitions been successful? How do you market your call for submissions and your blog?

(5) You refer to yourself as the Bounce Back Babe. That’s pretty interesting. How difficult was it for you to write about all the personal things you’ve been through?

(6) Your e-books are incredibly fascinating. You have written “Letting Go of an Animal You Love,” “Letting Go of Someone You Love,” and other inspirational books. You make the publication process seem so easy and attainable! How did you decide to host these book sales on your site? Did you self-publish? Why did you choose Adobe Acrobat PDFs instead of going through mainstream digital book channels? How would you describe the success of your books? Would you ever consider publishing your books in print form?

(7)   Some of your blog topics are not as populated as others. For example, you have only one post under “Lifestyle, Celebrations” and “Lifestyle, Hobbies.” Do you have plans to expand some of the topics that have only one blog post? How do you decide how to categorize your blog posts? How often do you write on this blog?

(8) You have many posts dedicated to your experiences in education, many which appear to be related to finances. Have you ever reblogged or repurposed your material for websites that focus on personal finance?

(9) You seem to get a ton of great feedback from readers. Do you ever write blog posts in response to specific question from readers? Do your readers inspire you to write? If not, what is your writing inspiration for this blog?

(10) The format of your blog posts seems to follow a pattern of explaining exactly what the article is about and enumerating the points you want to make. Is it easier for you to write how-to enumerated blog posts versus essay-type blog posts? Which style do you prefer and why?

 

Joy

(1) Your sitemap is impressive, not to mention mind-boggling. How long have you been blogging? Do you plan to convert your blog posts into books at some point?

(2) What is the difference between Create With Joy and the Paper Princess? Why do you feel the need to separate the two identities?

(3) You refer to your blog as an inspirational blog that celebrates creativity at all different levels. How many different styles of creativity do you feature? Is there any style that you’d like to tackle but have not yet written about?

(4) Your blog is very popular and frequently populated with visitors who join you on your many linky parties. What do you think is the main reason why your blog is so popular? Please explain.

(5) Your weekly and daily memes are colorful and fun, such as WOYWW, Inspire me Monday, and Friendship Friday, to name a few. Which is your favorite meme, and why? What is the favorite meme of your readers, and why? Did you invent those memes?

(6) You dedicate many of your blog posts to your two cats. Would you consider yourself a pet blogger? Why or why not? Have you ever written guest blog posts about cats for others?

(7) Your section of book reviews is extensive. Do you get paid to write reviews for others? Do you publish your book reviews on other sources besides your own blogs? What are your favorite types of books to review?

(8) How do you define “altered art”? Would you say this is one of your artistic specialties? Do you teach people how to do altered art in your daily life, as a live teacher, or just on your blog?

(9) You host a lot of reading challenges to inspire bloggers to read! How successful have these challenges been? How did you come up with this idea?

(10) You write a fair amount of sponsored posts in which you receive payment to review products. How does someone get on a list to review products? How long have you been doing this? Is it worth your time?

 

Joanne Cipressi

(1) Your weekly inspiration chats on Twitter are one of the most popular and successful I’ve ever seen. During these chats, you pose simple questions and people flood you with replies. Why do you think these Twitter chats are so successful? What is the thing about the Twitter chats that most resonates with people? Have you ever thought about capturing the replies of people into an anthology dedicated to encourage and inspire others?

(2) You offer a free e-book on your site, “Happy You, Happy Life.” How did you decide to offer this book for free? Has your business benefitted by offering this free resource?

(3) Your “tweet-stimonials” (very clever…) and testimonials section is great. Have you succeeded in gaining additional business from these testimonials?

(4) Your blog post about waiting for happiness is perhaps the most important on your blog. Would you consider expanding that blog post and that theme into a larger body of written work? That is a topic that impacts all of society and stands the best chance of being picked up as a best-seller. (Refer to the last gal featured today…)

(5) A lot of the advice you offer teaches us to embrace difficulties as a means of accepting them so that we may move on in peace. That, perhaps, constitutes a comprehensive quote describing you and your services. Do you have a favorite inspirational quote? What is it and why is it important? How do you pick which quotes to feature on your site?

(6) Are you active through other social media channels besides Twitter? Is Twitter the most important channel for you? Why or why not?

(7) Your blog posts receive a modest amount of comments. Are your blog readers more comfortable talking to you in person or through private e-mails? Have your blog posts encouraged others to open up and share private moments with you? Have you ever used those moments as inspiration to write blog posts?

(8) You bill yourself as a life coach and speaker. Yet, you are incredibly active and knowledgeable about social media and blogging. Do you plan to add those skillsets to your formal repertoire? Do your clients care that you know how to manage social media and blogging? Or is that like a pleasant, but unnecessary “icing” to your “cake” of core services?

(9) Your blog post about 38 reasons to smile is written simply, yet it offers practical advice on why everyone should be doing it. Would you consider hosting an ongoing challenge on your blog encouraging readers to submit real-life stories of how they implemented your advice when life threw them lemons? If so, would you consider compiling those stories into an anthology?

(10) What is the single-most important piece of advice you can offer to others in terms of how to live their life to the fullest?

 

Shelley Lundquist

(1) Your bio is fascinating. You and several others I’ve met virtually cannot seem to describe themselves in a succinct way that pleases traditional settings (including me). Has that ever caused you problems in your personal or professional worlds?

(2) The name of your blog, Let Me Move You, comes closer in describing your purpose in life and in writing. You want to help others change their mindsets. Do you consider yourself to be an inspirational person? Do others come to you for advice, whether virtually or in person?

(3) Your categories are fantastic, but some of them are populated with few blog posts, such as abundance (one), sales (two), and awareness (one). Do you have plans to write blog posts in those categories? What inspires you to write in one category versus another?

(4) Your section on poetry is extensive. Poetry is extremely popular everywhere. Any plans to publish your poetry in a book?

(5) Gratitude never gets old. Have you ever participated in a gratitude writing challenge? Would you consider hosting one on your blog?

(6) You are one of the very few bloggers who uses an advanced vocabulary to add a depth of beauty to your writing. You are unafraid to write “motley, menagerie, fraught, and folly,” to name a few. Do you actively work on your vocabulary?

(7) Your blog post about simple kindness is a bit too rich and detailed to be contained in just one post. Would you consider dividing that post into a bunch of smaller posts and expanding those either on your blog or in a book? You offer many insightful comments that could help people.

(8) Is there a reason why you don’t date your blog posts? Is there an advantage to not adding dates?

(9) One of your blog posts was written by a guest, Juan Carlos Limas. How often do you accept guest blog posts on your blog? Do you write guest blog posts for others?

(10) You write a lot about generic truths in a lovely way. How would you describe your writing style?

 

Gretchen Rubin

(1) You have a lot of great blog posts exploring the subject of happiness, but they are hidden behind all of the media stuff. Would it make sense to make your blog posts more visible, perhaps broken down by categories? (2) Did you publish your first book traditionally? Would you ever consider self publishing for future books?

(3) How does your success as a N.Y. Times bestseller affect the time you can spend with your family? Has your newfound fame impacted your family life?

(4) Your voice is very deep for a woman. Do you think your deep voice has helped you to become prominent in today’s society? Do you think a woman with a lighter voice, such as Yeardley Smith, would garner the same respect?

(5) You have created a ton of videos offering snippets of advice to people struggling finding happiness in their lives. Can you describe the creative and technical processes involved in making videos? Do your readers always inspire you to create videos?

(6) Do you think your prestigious academic background helped you create a successful movement that was adopted by society almost immediately?

(7) Your “bluebirds of happiness” and “pigeons of discontent” are interesting themes or memes. Have you ever considered organizing your themes into smaller, bite-sized pieces by publishing them into anthologies or expanded versions of your books?

(8) You are incredibly active on social media. How many hours do you devote to social media each day? Each week? Do you consider social media to be a necessity in building and marketing your brand?

(9) What is the benefit of people starting their own happiness projects? It appears that “happiness projects” are licensed projects that require permissions from you. Is it really necessary for others to ascribe to your happiness projects or can they achieve great heights in happiness through other means?

(10) Your personal resolutions chart sounds interesting, but why must people ask for that separately? Wouldn’t it be easier for you to offer that source of inspiration as a downloadable book? Do you handle all of your administrative duties (such as responding to reader requests) or do you have staff working for you?

 

Writing Prompt 101

Prompt: Write a basic profile on featured bloggers Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen, Joy, Joanne Cipressi, Shelley Lundquist, and Gretchen Rubin.

Writing Tips:

• Conduct basic Internet research.

• Answer these questions in your writing: who, what, when, where, why (bonus: how?).

• Write your profile as descriptively as you wish. More details make your writing juicier!

• Bonus: interview the bloggers by asking them questions by e-mail and posting their replies on your own blog. Makes for good reading!

If you complete today’s writing prompt in the form of a blog post, please upload it here! Nina Amir and I want to hear from you!

 

About the Author of WNFIN’s Creative Writing Prompts

Amanda M. Socci provides creative writing prompts to nonfiction writers 3X per week on this site.  Amanda is a diehard creative who is also known as the Creative Idea Gal and an aspiring book author with several book ideas and writing projects in the works.