diff --git a/makesymlinks.sh b/makesymlinks.sh
index 9fcfe8a..1f3fe18 100755
--- a/makesymlinks.sh
+++ b/makesymlinks.sh
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@
 
 ########## Variables
 
-dir=$(basename $0)                   # dotfiles directory
-olddir=$(basename $0)_old            # old dotfiles backup directory
+dir=~/.dotfiles                   # dotfiles directory
+olddir=~/.dotfiles_old            # old dotfiles backup directory
 files=".tmux.conf .tmux.conf.local .vimrc .vim .tcshrc .bashrc .inputrc .git_completion"    # list of files/folders to symlink in homedir
 
 ##########
@@ -25,18 +25,18 @@ echo "...done"
 # move any existing dotfiles in homedir to dotfiles_old directory, then create symlinks 
 for file in $files; do
     echo "Moving any existing dotfiles from ~ to $olddir"
-    mv ~/$file ~/dotfiles_old/ > /dev/null 2>&1
+    mv ~/$file ~/.dotfiles_old/ > /dev/null 2>&1
     echo "Creating symlink to $file in home directory."
     ln -s $dir/$file ~/$file > /dev/null 2>&1
 done
 
 # link Starship config to ~/.config/ if exists
 if [ -f ~/.config ]; then
-    ln -s ./starship.toml ~/.config/starship.toml
+    ln -s $dir/starship.toml ~/.config/starship.toml
 fi
 
 # copy example bashrc.local if one doesn't exist yet
 if [ ! -f ~/.bashrc.local ]; then 
-    ln -s .bashrc.local ~/.bashrc.local
+    ln -s $file/.bashrc.local ~/.bashrc.local
 fi