Writing Prompt: Profile Bloggers Stelzner, Brinker, Klems, and Miller

Write Nonfiction in November is NaNonFiWriMo

There are 78 days left before NaNonFiWriMo 2013 is upon us. Are you ready?

Do you remember what this is? It is basically the nonfiction version of NaNoWriMo. We have several friendly folks helping us promote the program. We could sure use your help! Please consider helping us create a buzz for NaNonFiWriMo 2013, starting now…

Create a Buzz for NaNonFiWriMo

Nina Amir and I are awarding virtual tokens of appreciation to everyone who helps us create a buzz for NaNonFiWriMo 2013. Your name could be here, too. Just let us know what kind of buzz you’ve generated. Thanks!

Tokens of Appreciation Awarded to these Bloggers

Leaving comments on the WNFIN.com writing prompts:

• Val Hudgins – 1
• Melanie Martilla – 1

Featured bloggers respond to my questions:

• Melanie Marttila – 1
• Marc Nash – 1
• Kirra Antrobus – 3 here, here, and here.
• Maribel Steel – 1 (forthcoming link)

Social Media shares:

• Marlene Cullen – 1
• Kiril Kundurazieff – 1
• Denise Wakeman – 1

You and your blog or social media handle can be featured here, too. Want to help us generate some buzz for NaNonFiWriMo 2013? We’ll love you forever and you’ll soon get that feel-good fuzzy feeling of doing something awesome for fellow nonfiction writers.

Today’s Sub-Theme – Dad Bloggers

Our sixth sub-theme in August’s “All About You” theme is dad bloggers. I started doing research on parenting blogs and was soon looking at blogs from dads who are doing a fine job raising awareness of a unique, new brand – the dad blogger. Most of today’s featured bloggers are proud stay-at-home dads. Some are not. See if you can pick up on the differences among everyone’s style.

Today, your job is to write basic profiles on the following dad bloggers: Michael Stelzner, Aaron Brinker, Brian Klems, and Oren Miller.

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: inspirational bloggers: 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.

Creative Idea Gal’s Thoughts

The very first dad blogger I had ever heard of was Aaron Brinker, who blogs at Dad Blunders. I took immediate liking to Aaron’s soft, whimsical style, but never gave much thought to researching dad bloggers until now. What I unearthed was a complete underground of smart, witty, thoughtful dads who blog about their parenting successes and foibles in the same humorous way that moms do.

Missing from these dad blogs are the usual recipes, frugal living, and home decorating tips that usually accompany mom blogs. However, notwithstanding those absences, the dad bloggers more than make up for it with some thoughtful commentary on society’s reluctance to accept the female in the household as the breadwinner. It’s as thorny a topic as that involving nursing moms and moms returning to work. That means there is plenty of room for civil debate, discussion, learning, and empathy on all sides of the coin.

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

My questions for today’s featured bloggers are a writing prompt for them, intended to spark creativity. I do not require today’s featured bloggers to answer my softball questions, but I strongly encourage it! (A few of you have done so already – thank you!) This is what I call a prompt within a prompt!

Michael Stelzner

(1) You created an awesome professional video that succinctly explains why it’s vital to bring back adventures for kids that are detached from electronic devices. How can you afford to provide this incredible free resource, your blog, to parents?

(2) Your blog features the most original ideas in family adventures I’ve seen in a long time. You discuss things such as geocaching, jingles, and comic strips, to name a few. How do you come up with such original topics for your writers?

(3) How many contributing writers participate in your blog? Do you do some of the writing, too?

(4) Your blog features stunning graphics and illustrations that make your blog posts very attractive. Do you think the graphics components have boosted the value of your blog?

(5) How did you manage to attract so many qualified writers to write for you? Do you pay your writers? Why or why not?

(6) Do you think your blog would be enhanced if people were able to search through specific categories?

(7) The format of your blog pots is fascinating. The catchy title, colorful graphics, numbered steps and calls to action, and accompanying photos. How did you come up with this successful formula for a blog post? Why do you think it works?

(8) Do your own children participate in your blog? Have you tried doing any of the adventures that appear on your blog with your own family? Why or why not? If so, how did those adventures turn out?

(9) The level of creativity and ingenuity of the ideas found in your blog certainly warrant their compilation into a nonfiction book. Do you own the rights to the stories written by your contributors? Would you consider publishing a book using their stories?

(10) I’m pretty amazed that this resource has been on the Internet for only one year. What plans do you have for your blog for the future? Will you expand into other avenues? Podcasts, live workshops, YouTube videos?

 

Aaron Brinker

(1) I love the whole cowboy vibe. Why did you choose this theme for your blog? How does being a cowboy dad distinguish you from other dads?

(2) You teach the most important parenting lesson of all, learning to laugh at yourself, in ways that are very funny, touching, and endearing. How do you feel about the snark movement where people feel they need to be snarky in order to be funny? Why did you choose to not be snarky on your blog?

(3) Your detailed blog posts and photos are ripe for publication. Would you consider turning your blog posts into a nonfiction book? Do you think your son Xander will appreciate seeing your adventures in parenting in print some day?

(4) Why did you decide to become a stay-at-home dad? Was it a voluntary decision? Was it mutual? How do you feel about not working outside of the home as most dads do?

(5) Do you connect with fellow stay-at-home dads in your home state or virtually? Or, are most of your friends stay-at-home moms?

(6) How do you deal with the detractors? How do you handle negative comments from others who tell you to be working outside of the home so that your wife can raise your son?

(7) You make everyday living and common chores seem so special and meaningful. Do you consider it a gift to be able to see the world through eyes of joy, notwithstanding your personal pain and previous job? How so?

(8) You attract a great mix of moms and dads to your blog. What makes you such an approachable person?

(9) Does your son participate in your blog in any way, besides being your inspiration and cover model? Has he ever asked you to write directly about any particular topics?

(10) Do you consider yourself to be an inspirational parent? Why or why not?

 

Brian Klems

(1) You have a fun, whimsical style about you, your parenting, and your writing. Do you think you would have achieved success if your style had been more serious or hard-core?

(2) How would you define your appeal to parents who look to you for advice on how to raise girls?

(3) I’m always interested in hearing the journeys to publication of published book authors. Can you describe yours?

(4) “Passive aggressive lunchbox notes” are anything but! You manage to come up with clever twists to the most mundane things. I love it! Can you describe your particular brand of creative writing?

(5) Your participation in Movember is admirable. Any plans to do it again in 2013? Will you encourage other men and fathers to participate as well? What can females and mothers do to join you or support you in this charitable cause?

(6) How do you reconcile your Writer’s Digest duties with your parenting blog? Do you keep up the pace with both? And where does your book fit into everything? How on earth did you manage to do all that work and still keep up with parenting duties?

(7) You’ve been working on your parenting blog for a long time before you wrote your book, Oh Boy, You’re Having a Girl. What inspired you to take your writing to the next level by writing your first book?

(8) Has being a published book author changed you in any way? Have you done in-person book signings or do you plan to do a book tour to support sales of your book?

(9) Do you follow the parenting advice of others or do you tend to work things out on your own?

(10) Do you relate to other dad bloggers? If so, how? If not, why do you feel that way? What is the emotional connection that dads share that moms do not?

 

Oren Miller

(1) How fascinating that you wanted to feature other dad bloggers before featuring yourself. Why did you adopt such an unselfish, caring attitude towards other dads? What inspired you to create this community?

(2) Can you describe your participation in the Good Men Project? Why is that website important? Why is it a good idea to write for that blog?

(3) What inspired you to create a Facebook group just for dads? What are the benefits of joining? Have you learned unique things through that group?

(4) Congratulations for being invited to a screening of a Disney movie! How often do you get invitations to do cool things? Do you think your reputation as a dad blogger is well known?

(5) You equate the need for kids to learn another language with exposing the kids to other cultures. Do you feel lucky to have learned another language in order to be able to pass it down to your children? What is your opinion of people who know another language and choose to not teach their children?

(6) Can you describe your participation in the Dad 2.0 summit? Were you a panelist or just a participant? What is some of the best advice you learned during this summit?

(7) Your blog touches upon many personal things, including depression, that are a part of being a father. How do you feel about revealing such personal information on the Internet? Has it helped you to get through things?

(8) You manage to break society’s definition of fatherhood and motherhood swiftly into smithereens, offering honest reflections of what it means to be a parent. Do you think society is ready to pay attention to your avant-garde thoughts?

(9) How political are you?  How do your political viewpoints affect your parenting? Do you teach your children about politics in an unbiased way?

(10) You have written a lot of reviews about iPhone apps, movies, and books. Do you ever get paid to write reviews? If no, what can you do to get paid?

Writing Prompt 095

Prompt: Write a basic profile on dad bloggers Michael Stelzner, Aaron Brinker, Brian Klems, and Oren Miller.

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

Amanda M. Socci is the creator of this unique 10-month training program providing writing prompts to nonfiction writers. Amanda is a diehard creative and an aspiring book author, currently blogging a book on faith, A Slice of Faith, on a community website. Visit Amanda’s blog. Follow Amanda on her journey to book publication. Like A Slice of Faith on Facebook.