Cyber Monday Video Game Goodness and More

So, I've got more than enough things to write about, but today I'm going to make a plug for some of my sites in honor of Cyber Monday.

Sure, it's a bit promotional - but maybe, just maybe, you'll find something you're looking for. And I'll be able to talk a bit about writing and niches while I'm at it :)

I create niche sites/articles on a platform called Squidoo that provide people with information they're looking for on the internet. For example, if someone wants to know what video game to get for a friend who owns a Kinect, I've got a list of the best Kinect games that will point them in exactly the right direction. Looking for handheld games instead? 10 Best PS Vita Games or Best 3DS Games might be more your style.

WalkaboutNYC: Campfire - Immersive Marketing Experiences

Welcome to Part Three of my personal WalkaboutNYC 2012 Startup Tour! To read more about why exactly startups in the city opened their doors on this day, check out my first post in this series: Walkabout NYC 2012 Recap: Startup-Hopping In the City.

I started out the day at OpenPlans (WalkaboutNYC: OpenPlans - Trip Planning At Its Best), and from there it was only a hop, skip, and a jump to the next stop on my list - Campfire.

Campfire

First impressions are important, and after sliding yourself into the old-fashioned elevator, you can't help but wonder what this place has in store for you. But the well-appointed office with an open floor plan, an interesting wall full of clocks (just don't try and use them to tell time) and a well-stocked kitchen offering tantalizing snacks and drinks soon set me at ease.

WalkaboutNYC: OpenPlans - Trip Planning At Its Best

If you're just joining us, welcome! This is part two in my series about my recent participation in WalkaboutNYC, a free program during which startups in the city open their doors to the public in order to showcase their work, educate people about what makes startups tick, and build connections within the community.

For an introduction to Walkabout NYC, check out my first post: Walkabout NYC 2012 Recap: Startup-Hopping In the City

You get to choose one of several startups during each hour-long slot throughout the event, so I selected OpenPlans as my first destination.

The first thing you notice about OpenPlans is, understandably enough, the swift elevator ride that whisks you up to the gorgeous penthouse office overlooking a vast swath of lower Manhattan including Little Italy, Chinatown, and Tribeca. If you're lucky enough to check out the site, don't miss out on the rooftop garden, a secluded oasis which feels miles away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Walkabout NYC 2012 Recap: Startup-Hopping In the City

This year, I was lucky enough to hear about Walkabout NYC, a semi-annual startup-hopping event, just days before it took place.

What inspired me to sign up for an afternoon spent rushing around SoHo, Bowery, and the Flatiron District? Well, for starters, I love going to events in the city where I'm likely to run into cool and interesting people. And, as a freelancer writer, I'm basically running the "startup of me" - so it never hurts to get new ideas, especially when they're related to marketing, media, branding, or technology.

Walkabout NYC turned out to be a great opportunity to visit the beautiful Silicon Alley offices of OpenPlans, Campfire, Gin Lane Media, and Flightpath. At each location, my fellow Walkabouters and I were treated to insights into the company's products and services, customer base, and origins, along with some great views and tasty treats. The startups were forced to get creative with squeezing a lot of content into a small amount of time - within the space of the hour, participants had to arrive from their previous location, listen to a presentation, indulge in snacks, ask questions, and be off on their merry way to the next destination.

Us Writers Deserve To Get Paid

My recent experiences with trying to build up The Prancing Laggard Pub have caused me to butt up against a long-standing frustration I've had with the online writing business. You see, my main goal for the publication is to pay my writers a living wage.

"Oh, that's so noble of you," you might say to yourself as you clasp your hands and flutter your eyelashes, with or without a heavy dose of sarcasm.

No, it's not noble of me. If I was in the habit of cursing online, I'd do it here, but as I try not to do that too much I'll just say this - it's freaking my duty as a person in this industry to make sure that people get paid what their work is worth.

Now, my writer friends, repeat after me:

How To Write a Draft... and How Many Drafts it Takes

How does one write a draft? And how many drafts does it take until a story, blog post, or article is complete? There are plenty of people out there searching for the answers to those questions.

As a freelancer, I have a lot of different projects going on at one time. Not all of them are computer-based, so I don't always sit in front of my computer for long spans of time, nor do I always have the luxury of spending my computer time focused on a single piece of work. This can be very frustrating if I'm trying to achieve a certain goal in one sitting - such as, say, "finishing a first draft." I'm sure the same is true for many people who live and work in the writing world. Whether it's kids, pets, other jobs, or something else that takes your mind away from the draft, it can be hard when you don't know when it's time to "move on to the next stage."

Now that I've been thinking more about drafts in general, and how to get my work done more quickly specifically, I think that the problem is with the carved-in-stone definition of "draft." For example, when I write an article for a site online (such as Trail's Edge Blog), I used to try and force myself through to my desired word count on the first pass. That led to me either staring at the screen angrily when I was halfway through and coming up blank, or just procrastinating until I had that perfect slot of time available. Which never happened, by the way.

Freelance Writer Vs. Online Entrepreneur: What's the Difference?

Source: Emma Larkins

I often describe myself as both a freelance writer and an online entrepreneur. In some ways, the difference between these two types of employment are greater than you might think; in other ways, they're actually pretty similar, and involve a lot of related skills, techniques, and abilities. If you're interested in trying either one, it helps to know exactly what they each entail.

Freelance Writing

The main identifying factors when it comes to being a freelance writer are writing for other people and (almost) always getting paid a set amount. In general, you work for one or more clients. The clients specify the type of work they are looking for, and the amount of money they're willing to pay (although sometimes there is negotiating involved). The writer provides this work, and in return receives the agreed-upon payment. In order to increase income, freelance writers search for new clients and new writing markets.

There are a variety of different ways you can get paid as a freelance writer. You can write articles for online or offline newspapers and magazines, either as one-shot deals or as a regular contributor (at some point you might end up becoming a staff writer). You can write copy for marketing purposes, to be included in advertisements, brochures, websites, or other mediums. You can ghostwrite fiction or non-fiction pieces.

One thing remains the same: you are guaranteed to receive payment for your work, and that amount is almost always agreed upon before the work is completed.

Online Entrepreneurship

Thoughts on Setting Writing Goals and July 2011 Update

I was thinking earlier about the writing goals that I set for myself in June. I was frustrated that I hadn't done as well as I'd hoped, and I was trying to figure out why I was having trouble. Although I did manage to write all my Trail's Edge blog posts, and I blogged even more than I said I would over at You Amuse Me, I fell short with Weird Worm articles (seven instead of eighteen), didn't start my mystery blog, and didn't read The Happiness Project. Out of all of them, the Weird Worm goal bugged me the most.

Later in the day, I went for a swim (trust me, this is an important part of the story). My goal was to swim for at least fifteen minutes.I didn't have much more time than that to spend, because I had to get back to work. So why was it that I felt so frustrated after a fourteen minute swim? It was surely close enough to my goal to make the difference not matter. It bothered me that after all the work of getting ready to swim, going to the pool, and actually doing the deed, I still didn't feel like I'd done a good enough job.

I Don't Always Love To Write

I don't always like it, even. And to tell the truth, it makes me feel kind of guilty. Once upon a time I figured that when I found my "passion in life," it would be something that I'd want to do every second of every minute of every day, and that it would never, ever be too hard or bore me. So how could writing possibly be my passion, if it's just so darn frustrating 90% of the time?

Well, it turns out that I'm not alone. I was flipping through The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, and I came across this passage: "Well, I don't actually love writing, but then practically no writer actually loves the writing part." I was stunned, and had to re-read her words several times to make sure I'd gotten it right. Writers don't like writing? But what about the colorful image I have in my head of truly great writers happily chaining themselves to their desks for hours on end, joyfully slaving over their computers, typewriters, or sheaves of paper, giddily conjugating verbs and delighting in finding just the right balance of descriptive nouns and adjectives? After all, writing isn't something that tends to be hugely profitable, or gain you a lot of glory, unless you work really, really hard at it for a really, really long time. And sometimes not even then. So why on earth would so many people do it if they didn't actually like it?

It's hard for me, personally, to answer the question of "why I write." I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I'm putting things out into the world, and leaving my mark in some small way. I like influencing people, and seeing their reactions to the things I do. I like the fact that the harder I work, the more I get rewarded. And I like continually learning new things. Although Gretchen's words didn't make me understand why I'm subjecting myself to this writing thing, they made me feel much, much better about how I feel about writing. It's so good to know that I'm not alone in not liking writing all the time.

What do you think? Do you have times when you don't like to write? Leave your lovely comments below!

June 2011 Goals

A little late to the game, but I wanted to make sure that I wrote these down to hold myself accountable...

1. Write 18 15 Weird Worm articles. I'm not cutting myself slack just because I had trouble reaching my goal last month! I've written three so far, so I've got a bit of catching up to do.
2. Write 8 Trail's Edge Blog posts. I'm liking this gig a lot. Stay tuned for more info! If you're interested in checking out my most recent article, it's here: Best Outdoors Activities for Father’s Day.
3. Four posts per week on You Amuse Me. I've got a formula set up, so this one should be pretty straightforward. Blogging takes less time than writing articles!
4. Keep up with social media/promotions. A little more work with the new Facebook page and Twitter account, but still doable.
5. Launch my new mystery blog. This will also require more scheduling of posts, but I'm really excited about the new niche. We'll see how the timing goes with everything else that's going on.
6. Exercise. I'm going to start going to Ultimate one day a week, and running twice a week. I ran a mile last Sunday and my legs are still sore - that simply won't do!
7. Reduce the number of exclamation points I use! At least, in my articles. It's been pointed out to me that I sometimes use them to excess. I can't help that I sometimes want to convey my excitement about things!
8. Read The Happiness Project. My mom enjoyed it, so I figure it's worth a go.

Yay! I'm pumped up for June!

April 2011 Goals Recap

April has just come to an end. Time to see how I did on those goals!

1. Decide on where I want to go with writing fiction. Well... so far I've taken a break from fiction this month. I need to make sure that the passion is there before I throw myself into another project, or spend more time working on my old ones.
2. Write Weird Worm articles. I want to get at least 20 13 7 done this month. I managed to do a total of 13, which isn't too bad.
3. Plan for travel. I haven't made too much progress on this. My mom is trying to drum up support from the relatives.
4. Keep up with exercising. I want to average 10 miles per week by the end of April. I did great with this goal! 51 miles of running/walking/biking, a personal best.
5. Start a cooking blog? This has fallen by the wayside as I realize that at this point, it will be hard for me to optimize keywords for this type of blog, and there probably won't be a lot of potential for income. I've noticed that people who look up recipes usually aren't looking to buy things. As long as I'm trying to increase my income, I need to focus on moneymakers. 
6. Keep improving traffic to my online articles. My Squidoo traffic is increasing slowly but surely. Still looking for the best niche markets to explore, which will help this.

One thing I did this month that I hadn't planned was to submit my first travel writing article. Still waiting for a response, but it's a pretty cool step no matter what happens!

Bored? Funny, Interesting Articles on Weird Worm

I figured it's been a while since I've posted my Weird Worm articles, so here are some of my most recent ones.

6 Movies About Love and Babysitting

7 Types of Super Bowl Commercials

Good, Bad and Morally Ambigous: The Low-Down on 9 Movie Dragons

6 Reasons We’re Loving Community

Hope you enjoy, and stay tuned for plenty more Weird Worm to come!

Decide on Writing Fiction and Other April 2011 Goals

I've been too busy doing the things on this list to make this list, which is an improvement over being too busy slacking off! Here are my April goals:

1. Decide on where I want to go with writing fiction. I'm starting to come to the realization that my heart just hasn't been in the fiction novels I've written. It's a hard thing to come to terms with, because I want to be a fiction writer. I'm just not sure how much I want to write fiction. Or maybe I just haven't come across something that I'm passionate enough about yet. My goal as far as this goes is to gauge my enjoyment of this activity, and see if it's worth it.
2. Write Weird Worm articles. My Weird Worm articles didn't get written last month. But now that I'm used to writing 3,000 words a day, it should be a breeze. I want to get at least 20 13 done this month (7 done already!). And that will give me enough money to buy the digital camera I'm eyeing!
3. Plan for travel. I have an ambitious plan to visit my granddad in England and then my relatives in Norway in May once my lease is up. I also want to leverage this into a travel writing opportunity. I plan on tackling a bit of my huge to-do list each day. I've already started contacting travel mags and writing sample articles.
4. Keep up with exercising. I've been averaging 6.5 miles a week of jogging/walking/biking/hiking, and I want to average 10 by the end of April. So far I'm good with 20 miles this month.
5. Start a cooking blog? I'm playing with the idea of starting a cooking blog. I love to cook, I do it regularly, I love to take photos of food, and I love to blog. However, I'll have to see if I can swing it with everything else that's going on.
6. Keep improving traffic to my online articles. So far, the work I've put into my online content isn't really paying enough for the amount of time I've spent. I want to make sure that I'm using my energy in a productive manner.

That should be more than enough to keep me busy until May!

Starting a New Novel and March 2011 Goals

So it's that time again - time to post my goals for the month!

Here they are, in all of their March-y glory.

• Get the plan for my next novel into reasonably good shape (due March 5). Finished this on time! Whoo hoo!
• Write 50,000 words. Just signed up for MarNoWriMo (March Novel Writing Month) to help that along! I've also just started on the first draft today, boldly plunging ahead even thought I'm definitely scared to be writing in a completely new genre and finally with the intention of seeing this manuscript through to publication.
• Write 12 articles for Weird Worm. So far, I've done three this month, just have to be careful not to fall behind.
• Approach 2 new markets.
• Publish about once a day on writing site Squidoo lens per day (aiming for 20 this month).
• Do taxes
• Run 3 miles in 28 minutes. My best time so far has been 30 minutes.

I'm also keeping track of my 2011 goals on Squidoo, if anyone is interested in following my progress and encouraging me/yelling at me when I fall behind :)

Working To Finish My February Goals - Writing and Other!

Well, the end of February is just around the corner! Here's a look at how my goals are coming:

1. Finishing my editing assignment. Already mentioned this, but it's extra fun with the strikethrough!
2. Finish starting my new book. The current plan is that I turn in the character sketches and an idea of what the book will be about by Saturday. I'm on schedule, but still a little nervous about whether my plan will work!
3. Ten four articles for Weird Worm. I've written six so far, and started on the seventh. Really hope I can get around to finishing the one article and brainstorming two new ideas today, but I don't wanna! :p
4. Approach one new market. Well, I approached a market, but it turned out to be not exactly what I'm looking for. Sigh. Why is finding new markets so hard? I'll keep my eyes open, but right now I don't know if looking for new markets will be as effective as maximizing the income from my current markets.
5. Run three miles in 30 minutes. I managed 32 minutes today. I've been sick, so I don't know if I'll make the goal by the end of February. We'll see!

Still got a ways to go to get all of my goals done. Here's to coming in just at the deadline!

Finish-Up Friday: Articles, Market Research, and New Project

It's the end of the week, and time to finish up all the loose ends!

So far, I've written three of my ten articles for the month, and part of a fourth. If I can finish another article tonight and send in my next pitch, I'll be super happy!

I've gotten a bit stumped while looking for new markets to write for. I like writing for Weird Worm because I can pitch pretty much anything. Which means that I don't have to take a chance on writing an article that may or may not get accepted. I know I'm being a bit picky, but what can I say? Finding new markets is hard!

Luckily (?) I'll be starting a new fiction project soon, and that will take up enough of my time that I'll probably be happy not to have lots of article markets to write for!

And finally, here's a picture of flowers to make it seem like spring really isn't all that far off. Enjoy!

Halloween Comes But Once A Year

I know it's not strictly writing-related, but I wanted to share with any fellow Halloween-lovers what I've been working on at the wonderful write-what-you-want site Squidoo. That's right, you can write anything you want on Squidoo, and if you're good, you can even get paid!

Yes, I am Emma Larkins, and I admit that I love Halloween. I love everything from the pumpkin-carving to the costume-making to the decorating. I used to love the trick-or-treating, but unfortunately I've long outgrown that stage. Now I just have to satisfy myself with awesome Halloween parties!

So here are a few sites to satisfy your cravings for all things Halloween-y:

Scary Spooky Halloween Music: What better way to get in the mood than with Michael Jackson's Thriller, Monster Mash, and Casper the Friendly Ghost?

Spooky Scary Halloween Movies: From the silly (Ernest Scared Stupid) to the terrifying (Halloween, of course) there are movies here to suit everyone's taste.

I Love Pumpkins - Carving, Patterns, Eating and More!: For those who just can't get enough of pumpkins, this site is for you!

Halloween on Squidoo: A plethora of Halloween sites, from costumes to decorating to recipes, to suit anyone's taste.

And if you're still not in the spirit, how about a Halloween classic?

Writing Humor Update: EarthDate April 27, 2010

Yay! My topic got featured on Cracked.com!

(The usual note: Cracked.com is an irreverent humor site, and not suitable for all audiences.)

Kirpatrick Swayzerussell: The Perfect Man

Basically, it's a breakdown of how Kurt Russell and Patrick Swayze are the same person, with a little extra info thrown in about Kurt Russell. (For those of you who know how Topics work on Cracked, the topic is about Kurt Russeel specifically.)

Interested in learning about writing topics for Cracked.com? Check out the Cracked Topic Editor Hangout Page on the Cracked Forum, or send me a note if you have specific questions about how it works.

And here, for your viewing pleasure, is a rundown of some of my (wonderful, obviously) recent humor articles:

Cracked: 5 Movie Romances That Won't Last (According to Science)

Regretful Morning: 5 Reasons Your Gaming System is Better than your Girlfriend

Gunaxin: Seven Types of Animal Lawn Ornaments Explained

Read about my Writing Humor for Gunaxin and my Writing Humor for Cracked.com (and Regretful Morning) for more information.

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The Freelance Writer's Resume

Update: I'm working on publishing my first science fiction novel! Check out the Kickstarter page to learn more :)

A few weeks ago, I applied to write for one of the big online content sites. This site required that I submit a resume and a writing sample. So, I dusted off my old resume, tweaked it a bit to add my (at the time, somewhat sparse) freelance writing experience, and sent it out.

Unfortunately, the site turned me down, and I have to wonder whether it might have something to do with my resume. I did some research, and came across this interesting resource, written by Moira Allen at Writing-World.com.

I hadn't really stopped to think that a writer's resume might be different from any other type of resume, but according to this site, it was. I thought back on what I knew about resumes, and specifically what I knew about formatting your resume when you're changing your career (which is, after all, what I'm doing). The thing is, companies hiring freelance writers want to know specifically that those writers can, well, write more than they want to know what jobs they've held over the past five, ten, or fifteen years.

Writing Humor for Gunaxin

Okay, so I got a little spacey, and forgot to check out Gunaxin for a couple of days... during which time my article was published!

Seven Types of Animal Lawn Ornaments Explained

I had the idea for this article while making the long trek from Virginia to Maryland, during which time I got to thinking about different types of things you see while driving. My mind eventually wandered over to pondering lawn ornaments, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Gunaxin was one of the sites I found from reading the forums over at Cracked.com. After writing my Cracked article, I applied to Gunaxin and was accepted. The Gunaxin setup is different from the setups of some of the other humor sites that I've written for. For one, you not only write the article, you also enter it into the Wordpress form on the site yourself, and find images to go along with your work. You might find this a bit tricky if you haven't done any blogging or working with .html in the past, but the people at Gunaxin are very helpful if you have any questions. It is nice having someone else do part of the work when you write an article, but frankly I liked the control of being able to set up the layout the way I wanted it.

Oh, and Gunaxin is a paying market, which is nice :)

Interested in trying Gunaxin for yourself? Check out the Gunaxin Contributors Page.

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