How To Find Your Mojo In 12 Honest Steps…My Way

Hello once again, Readers!!! It’s a new year and a whole new me…wait…what?

Okay, so I’m still the same Red Bull drinking, music blasting, rebellious thinking writer that strives for more (or a little too much at times). I don’t really have any resolutions for the new year besides finishing From the Embers. It’s not because I’m not striving, it’s just that every day is a new day and a new chance for me to be better. I don’t need to wait for a new year to do that.

But I digress.

So for those of you who don’t know what MoJo is, watch ‘Austin Powers’. No seriously, it is that special spark inside of you that makes you who you are. It gives you your funk…your edge…your appeal….your, well, your uniqueness.

And I feel like I have lost my MoJo!

“Wwhhhhhhyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!????????” I cry as I fall to my knees and hang my head in despair.

Well because ever since the publication of Born in Flames, I have been distant from my blog and distant from what I used to write about on here. As most of us know, you don’t sell if you don’t market. And then holidays snuck up on me. So now I am sitting here, wondering what in the heck could I possibly have to say to you that would keep you interested in me?

This is what my brain came up with:

See all that blank space? That’s exactly right, my friends. A whole lot of nothingness. That is what I came up with. This in turn, led me to wonder: What happened to my freaking MoJo!!!??? After freaking out because I couldn’t find it or any Red Bull in the fridge, I decided that I had to figure out how to bring it back. But I don’t like ordinary. I don’t like following the many (usually the same) ideas that you can find out there in the blogging world.  Not because they aren’t good, but because I am difficult and hard-to-please. I either write from my head, or nothing at all.

“Shut up and spill it already!”

Sheesh…okay…you don’t have to yell! What I am about to share with you is the up most top-secret, highly coveted, teeny bit of information that happens when my hands touch a computer. People…you can’t buy this in a book store. It’s magic. It just happens. So prepare yourselves, because you are about to be blown away!!! This is how I found my MoJo.

1. First, stare at your computer for an ungodly amount of time…maybe until you drool. That should be a key sign that you have stared long enough.
2. Type your opening line.
3. Delete your opening line.
4. Re-write your opening line, followed by a few more sentences that cause you to cringe in fear of having nothing viable to say.
5. Save your empty draft and walk away rather than throwing your computer.
6. Watch Indian Jones (because he is AWESOME). Heck, watch all the Indiana movies.
7. Turn your computer back on and check your email.
8. Then check your Facebook.
9. Pretty much do anything besides what you should be doing: finishing your blog post.
10. Feel like a loser because you can’t come up with a blog post and then log into WordPress because you refuse to be a quitter.
11. Finish your post without the pressure of caring whether or not it is clever and appealing.
12. Click Publish.

Oh wait….you wanted me to give you 12 steps that were helpful, not share what I just did today before finishing this post. Sorry. That’s the reality. There is no magic solution. Sitting down, not over-analyzing what you are trying to write, and simply writing is the only way to make it happen. Some of you are blessed with ideas and the dedication to put them down everyday. I know because I get the emails containing all your knowledgeable posts and think, Man I need to write more.

Now for a drastic change in subject, I noticed recently that people have found me by typing the following in their search engines:

• cat why don’t you love me
• fairy shadowbox
• knoebel obsession
• kobo punching bag
• feisty personality
• I have been in such a rut lately I really need something good to happen before I go crazy
• anger is unproductive
• I love you but you wont find it out
• fire poker walmart
• is the sentence correct I am only but clay in his hands.

Wow.

With that being said, I haven’t even left you with a question in like god knows how long! So it’s time to bring that back!

Do you have any serious helpful tips to writing a successful blog post?

Just because I love the original commercial…hahhaa.

Echelon out, folks ♥

How To Create A Button For Your Blog

Hello once again, Readers!!! Like the picture?? Me too! I love The Walking Dead!!! The series just keeps getting better and better. Do you watch it? If not, you definitely should. If you do watch it, then you know what Rick is talking about lol.

But I digress.

So for most of you that have no idea what a button is, here is a quick definition. If you look to the right of my blog, you will see a picture of my cover and wording right below it that says “Grab my button”. That is what a button is. It is something that represents your blog that someone else can post onto theirs for promotion or just because they are freaking awesomely nice. Neat right?

I thought so too which is why I created one! If any of you are Authors, it’s a good idea to have one for your readers who blog. It gives them a way to represent your book. You’ll be surprised by just how easy it is too. I sure was.

Let’s dive in to the details, shall we?

1. Find an image that best represents your blog. If it’s your book, use your cover.
2. Go to Pixlr. This is a site that allows you to edit your image using a plethora of tools. The most important thing though is it allows you to size the image.
3. Now that you’re on Pixlr, click browse. This will open your files on your computer. Find the image and select okay.
4. Now your image is open and ready! You have six main options here. Adjustment (which is all the little details like overlapping images, shading, doodling, downsizing, ect), effect (which allows you to change the color of your photo), overlay (this has free images and effects that you can overlap onto your photo), border, sticker, and font. Neat right?
5. Once you’re finished playing around with it and you have your image how you want it, you need to size it. A standard button should be 125×125, but you can play around to make it whatever you want. Just remember that this is something for other people to put on their blogs so don’t make it too big.
6. Now you click save!

Easy right? But that’s just for the image. Now you have to create a code for it that will enable others to actually “grab” it.

1. This is your basic code: <a href=”YourSiteURL“><img src=”YourButtonImageURL” /></a>
2. Replace the bold lettering with your information. To find your button image URL, upload the image into your media and then copy the image url is assigns you. That is what you will insert into that part.

The code is created! Now you have to add it to your blog!

1. Go to appearance and then widgets. Take a text box and place it on the sidebar where you want it displayed.
2. Add the image URL.
3. Add the following code to the box, replacing all bold with your information: <img src=”YourButtonImageURL” alt=”YourSiteTitle” />
   123px; height: 125px; overflow: auto; border: 1px solid #666666;”><a href=”

   YourSiteURL” target=”_blank”><img src=”YourButtonImageURL” alt=”YourSiteTitle” width=”125″ height=”125″ /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;</div>

Now you should have a successful button! Woot! Who knew!? I hope this was helpful to you! If not, you can find other sites that have more in-depth step-by-step instructions. This is just a quick version. I also used Pixlr to create my mock book cover for NaNo. I love that site.

Any who, thanks for hanging in there! Hope you have a happy and safe Christmas!

Echelon out ♥

How To Gain Traffic To Your Blog

Hello once again Readers!!! Welcome back! And to my newest subscribers, welcome, and thank you for subscribing!!

So, as promised, I’ve spent most of my morning digging around the internet and on Author Media for tips on blogging. I’m down to the last few sips of my red bull.

*frowning*

But on a good note, it’s been such a wonderful week of free knowledge here on my blog.

Now let us begin. The first blog I stumbled upon was 50 Things to Blog About for those of us who commonly get writer’s block. I must admit, there are days when I’m like, uhhhhhh, staring at the computer screen with a blank face. It could be because I have yet to devour my red bull, or it could be because I have that evil, infamous Writer’s Block. (Click on the link to read my blog on how to defeat this illustrious beast). I digress, so the above mentioned blog with 50 ideas is magnificent for overcoming those sort of days.

But that’s really not what I was looking for on my quest for knowledge on how to gain blog traffic. I wanted something meatier, thus I have found: How To Build A Community. This blog has great ideas such as being honest with your readers and inviting them to share their thoughts. For me, this was a no brainer which in turn means-more digging.

*another frown*

Ah ha! I have found it! 21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic! Finally, a blog that teaches me something that I haven’t already learned on my own. There are some great tips and even example pictures (my fav-o-rite) to go along with the tips. You can’t go wrong in reading this if you are looking to build your audience…like moi.

Some of my favorite tips are:

• #10-guest blogging. I have yet to guest blog or have a guest on my blog, but I am open to it and have even been trying to figure out how to get started. This blog explains in detail how to get started, so look out bloggers!
• #16-use your email signature to promote. It’s a great (and free) way to silently spread the word.
• #22-A bonus tip! Be consistent. I love this tip because it applies to not only blogging, but writing as well. Practice makes perfect and working hard will eventually pay off.

So what do you think? Did this help you? It helped me! *happy dance* My only hope is that I can apply what I’ve learned, and plant the seeds of my thoughts amongst you all in hopes that they will one day sprout heartily, leaving me with a lovely audience that I can interact with.

Now to leave you with a question: As a fellow blogger, what tips do you have to offer for gaining traffic? If you’re not a blogger, what brings you back as a reader and what bores you?

‘Til next time (Most likely Monday)…Echelon out ♥