What’s killing your ability to focus?
On November 3, 2016 by Lauren ElkinsI have many distractions in my home office. As I am sitting here right this very second, the cat is on my lap (he moves constantly), there’s clutter on my desk, toys are all around me, and the task board on the wall keeps whispering to me, “I’m not up to date!” My daughter is
Finding your writers’ group
On April 18, 2016 by Lauren Elkins“The best way to handle the madness that is publishing is to join a gang.” What do you think? Interesting writing advice. When I read this in an article about writing advice, I nodded my head, smiling. Because I am in a gang! I am part of a gang of other writers. When I sit
Managing my online writer presence
On March 14, 2016 by Lauren ElkinsNot long after getting married, I bought laurenelkins.com. I could finally purchase my own name domain name. My maiden name was purchased years ago by somebody doing nothing with the site. Infuriating much? I mean, come on, laurencampbell.com owner. What a waste. But I’ve got my name now and that’s a big step for me
SEO Sleuthing
On January 26, 2016 by Lauren ElkinsOnce upon a time, I worked for a small company that made and sold girls clothing. They had a website that brought in a little bit of traffic and they asked me to get more traffic to it so I began researching SEO. I improved things for them and they were happy enough. Well, let
reddit for dummies
On July 21, 2015 by Lauren ElkinsWhen you first stop in to Reddit.com, it doesn’t look pretty. It doesn’t look like anybody has cleaned house since the 1990s. “Why,” you ask yourself, “Why is this place called the front page of the internet?” Spend quality time there and brace yourself: it may be life changing. I’ve only been on Reddit for
digital citizenship as a writer
On May 20, 2015 by Lauren ElkinsBusinesses have social media strategies because they know that in today’s industry, this is required to thrive. A writer is her own business and plays every role within, such as marketing, sales, content management, technology, and even wellness coordinator. Social media matters to writers, too. At least, it should. I created my first webpage in
writing your six-word memoir
On April 27, 2015 by Lauren ElkinsI just returned from the Solstice Writing Conference. It was an extended weekend full of hand-cramping rush writes, editing of memoirs, good food, and excellent company filled with talented writers and faculty. One of the rush writes we did was to write as many six-word memoirs as we could in the 5 minutes allotted. Louise
writing changes your life – oodles of scientific proof
On February 19, 2015 by Lauren ElkinsI used to be an excellent journal keeper. I’ve since turned to blogging and spend less time with an actual pen in my hand, sitting in bed, recording thoughts. I need to take it up again and I have a couple of scientific studies to remind myself that doing so makes life better. The first one, Emotional
finding your people
On February 17, 2015 by Lauren ElkinsWhen I was in classes for my English degree, I had built in peer reviews for my writing. One class in particular, the final of the class was 50-pages of your own writing, in whatever genre you chose at the beginning of the semester. I chose historical drama and I hated my final submission, but
writing prompts and reddit
On January 12, 2015 by Lauren ElkinsHOW TO START. That’s an article that I could use every day. How to start getting out of bed in the morning. How to start saving more money. How to start keeping your house cleaner. How to start writing the next article, blog, or short story. Starting is one of the hardest parts of the