What is Write Nonfiction in November – a.k.a. NaNonFiWriMo?
As of today, nonfiction writers have 83 days to prepare for NaNonFiWriMo 2013 – – a month-long marathon of writing nonfiction in November (the nonfiction version of NaNoWriMo). Are you getting ready?
Create a Buzz for NaNonFiWriMo
As promised on Wednesday, Nina Amir and I will start rewarding bloggers who create a buzz for NaNonFiWriMo 2013. Since then, several of you left comments on our prompts and got the ball rolling on generating a buzz for NaNonFiWriMo 2013! Thank you so very much!
Tokens of Appreciation
Those of you who now have tokens of appreciation are being rewarded for doing the following buzzworthy things.
Leaving comments on the writing prompts:
- Val Hudgins – 1
- Melanie Martilla – 1
Linking WNFIN.com on your blog:
- Marc Nash – 1
You and your blog 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. Full details are here.
Today’s Sub-Theme – Photojournalism
Our fourth sub-theme in August’s “All About You” theme is photojournalism. This is an interesting and final topic to tackle in celebration of YouTube’s Geek Week this week. Today, your job is to write basic profiles on photojournalists: Darlisa Black, Veronica Roth, Alik Sumin, and Arnoldo Romero.
Recap: List of 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.
Creative Idea Gal’s Thoughts
Photojournalism is a fascinating, creative, and often misunderstood form of art. What exactly is photojournalism? How do you do it? Do you admire it or read it? All good questions yielding a variety of answers depending on who you ask.
My definition of photojournalism is as follows: photojournalism is a mixed media form of art consisting of a series of words that accompany photos. The words usually string together to form a cohesive story, sometimes they pose questions to the reader, and sometimes they offer educational, explanatory narrative without a story per se.
Today’s featured bloggers are a fantastic blend of creative people who happen to blog while incorporating photos. It isn’t just one or two photos, folks. These blogs are photo-heavy, giving the eye much to ponder and behold. You may view their photos with admiration and like them for the sake that they’re pretty or perhaps be left asking questions to learn more about the photos.
Any reaction you feel by seeing the photos and reading the accompanying words is a good thing. That means you are connecting with the photos on some personal level and may even be inspired. The reaction and sentiments is what these bloggers are looking for. Otherwise, why else would they devote so much time and energy in sharing their photos?
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!
Blogger Darlisa Black
(1) Do you specialize in nature photography? Do you equate nature with serenity?
(2) You identify lenticular clouds as your signature image? Why? Why are clouds so important that they symbolize your photography style?
(3) Can you discuss the publication process of your photobook, Moods of Mount Adams? Is this a self-published book? Is there a special reason why this book costs $65?
(4) Do people often confuse your name and call you Starlisa instead of Darlisa? Why is the name of your company so similar to your real name?
(5) Your journey to serenity is admirable. What inspired you to focus on serenity as the dominant theme in your photography?
(6) Do you think your serenity-inspired photos might have a greater impact on your audience if you accompanied it with poetry or some type of inspirational quote or short story? Have you tried writing poetry or using someone else’s poetry to accompany your images?
(7) How did you manage to have a photo display featured at a local hospital? Is this a paid opportunity for you or are you doing it as a volunteer effort to market your business?
(8) You have one image of balanced rocks on your blog. Are you familiar with Michael Grab’s artistic work with balanced rocks? Perhaps reading his story will inspire your photography.
(9) Your nighttime photography is stunning. How different is the experience of taking photos at night versus taking photos during the day?
(10) Your blog post about how the earth cries is a clear sign of photojournalism because it ties together dewey roses with the victims of the Oklahoma tornado from earlier this year. Would you consider tying your photography a little closer to meaningful words and expressions? Those tie-ins could provide some much-needed emotion to your photography and inspire comments on your blog. Otherwise, people are only going to say they like a photo. Perhaps that is a bit one-dimensional. Do you agree?
Blogger Veronica Roth
(1) You are the official queen of lovely. You write about lovely things, photograph in a lovely way, and use ‘lovely’ very often to describe things. Why is ‘lovely’ your favorite word? What meanings do you give to that word?
(2) You write, photograph, sketch, illustrate, and get down to business with intricate crafts. Which artistic medium have you not yet tackled? Do you plan to write about your experiences with your new to-be-attempted media?
(3) Your photo-intensive blog is richly packed with details and quaint stories and observations. Do you plan to turn any of these writings into books?
(4) Does it ever feel like a chore or obligation to memorialize your day-to-day experiences with photos and text? Why or why not?
(5) The story of the chicken and the egg rings true in photography, too. Which comes first, the text or the photo? What do you focus on?
(6) Photos of teacups appear frequently on your blog. What is the mystique of teacups that attracts you?
(7) Do you do artistic work on commission? If no, would you consider doing art for others as a business?
(8) Why do you visit the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew each year for your birthday? What is it about this greenhouse that fills you with happiness?
(9) Your tutorial on how to make a lavender wand is breathtaking, but also appears to be labor-intensive. Do you prefer to do long, complicated art projects or simpler ones?
(10) Why do you participate in weekly photo challenges? What do you hope to gain with these experiences?
Blogger Alik Sumin
(1) Your blog is written in Russian without any translations. Do you think it’s necessary for people to understand the words you write or is looking at your photos without context sufficient?
(2) Can an international non-Russian speaking audience easily understand your photos? Why or why not?
(3) Your blog features architectural elements without an apparent unifying theme. What is the central theme of your blog? What is the benefit to your readers?
(4) You’ve photographed architectural objects in France, Italy, and Denmark. What are the main differences in the architecture between Russia and the other countries?
(5) Is architecture merely a form of aestheticism or does it project social meanings?
(6) You have a stunning portfolio of photos accompanied by text at the Russian version of LookAtMe. Has that site attracted clients? Have you benefited from having membership at that site?
(7) Some of your photos, such as the ones at Valencia Zoo, have nothing to do with architecture. Why do you include those on your blog about architecture?
(8) Can you define architecture within your own world? How does your definition compare to the standard definition?
(9) Some of your images appear to be custom illustrations created with a software program. What are your goals with these images? Are you trying to create architecture as design inspiration or for a builder to replicate in real life?
(10) Who are your favorite architects and why? How are you inspired by architects and architect workshops?
Blogger Arnoldo Romero
(1) You call yourself a gifted and talented specialist. Specialist in what? What do you see as your calling in life?
(2) How does your environment influence the art you make?
(3) You participate in a lot of art challenges and contests. What are some of your favorite challenges and why?
(4) A lot of your art is based on Christian books, principles, and prayers. Would you consider creating art for a non-Christian audience that practices other religions such as those who are Jewish, Muslim, or Buddhist? Are there advantages to creating art for others outside of Christianity?
(5) Your story and creative processes from the fish trio is fascinating. Do you keep scans of your original art? If so, do you convert those scans into other forms of art, such as note cards, bookmarks, journal pages, etc.?
(6) Your blog is filled with your personal creations and meaningful stories about each creation. Would you consider compiling the images and related stories into an inspirational book for artists?
(7) You’ve admitted to having creative blocks in which you feel that you can’t produce art. Why do you feel blocked? What do you do during these periods of blockage?
(8) You work extensively on your art journal. What do you plan to do with your art journal once it’s done? Will you give it to your children as a special gift? Turn it into a book?
(9) Your artful life is filled with photos, sketches, collage art, and detailed writing. Which is your favorite artistic medium and why?
(10) You have many extraordinary pieces of art such as ‘Home,” and ‘Celebration of Love’ that could easily stand alone as book covers for books written by others. Would you consider granting rights to writers to use your images for their book covers?
Writing Prompt 093
Prompt: Write a basic profile on bloggers: Darlisa Black, Veronica Roth, Alik Sumin, and Arnoldo Romero.
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 – a.k.a. Creative Idea Gal
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.
A great post about some interesting people.
I think I first began using photos as part of my blogging with my old cycling blog, a decade ago.
The idea was to share photos of where I rode my bike to enhance and illustrate what was discussed in blog posts.
At the same time I shared photos of my cat Nikita, and later Elvira as well, with & W/O word balloons, to enhance their blog posts on their blog
As time went by I found reason to take photos of cat & other animals on the street, not just for humorous effect, but for serious reasons as well.
I’ve also taken photos of places and events visited to either enhance the stories about those occasions or because the image inspired some other type of writing.
For me photography, even when using a simple point & shoot camera, is a great way to express yourself creatively visually and as a writer, not just to simply document people, pets, places and events.
Don’t let the fact that you might not have fancy equipment, or technical knowledge, hold back your photographic creativity
Kiril:
You’ve just earned yourself a token of appreciation for taking the time to comment on our writing prompts. Thank you! Your comments were thoughtful and I appreciate your perspective on photography. I know you have a lot of experience taking photos and using them to enhance your own writing.
Perhaps you may be interested in tackling this writing challenge and offering your own photography tips on your blog?
Hmmmm…I’ll give it some thought.
Thanks for the kind words, my friend.