Lately, I have been thinking about submissions. I thought I'd send out a few of my finished works while I continue works in progress.
I started venturing through my stories. After several computer crashes I've had stories saved in various places, one main place in particular. I checked there and all my stuff was still as I had left it. Unfortunately, there were a few stories that I had made edits to, after receiving feedback from my writing group. It looks like I didn't resave the files on my back-up after my edits. So more work is lost.
I either need to set up a schedule to save my items on back-up or remember to start saving them once I'm done with them.
The good news is that, when it comes to my writing, I'm a pack rat. I never throw away notes or drafts. So I still have all the notes and input from writing group. It's just a bummer to have to do the work over again.
Sometimes I feel like I'm spinning in circles.
Currently reading: Memoirs of a Geisha
Currently watching: Biggest Loser
Just watched: Star Trek
4 comments:
I read on one writer's blog that they liked to back up their files "off site" (in case the whole computer goes kaput, or your place gets hit by fire, tsunami, asteroids, etc.). They used a free service called Box.net, which I started using:
http://www.box.net/
Of course, you still have to remember to back up every day... Good luck!
A few crashes ago I think I once suggested (or meant to suggest) setting up a "Private Blog" - for your eyes only - where you could keep your writing online. That way you could call up stories, add notes, make revisions, whatever, from anywhere you have Internet access. It would be as stable and secure as anything else on Blogger, and you could always download your stories (or the entire blog) for offsite storage.
You could also write pieces of stories at a time instead of one constantly-updated entry for each story, and then use the Labels feature to review them all at once.
I've always been partial to pen and paper myself. I understand that one needs a computer. I love my little mac, he's my man. But after one serious, irrevocable crash, I'm all the more for hardcopy. I obsessively save what IS on the computer, and then save to a zip drive, and when I have the money, I'm going to get a time machine, which automatically backs up kestrokes as they occur. Even then I'm sure I'll still have mishaps, only two days ago I managed to loose two pages of edit, and that was AFTER saving it twice. Of course, paper means inevitably spilling something...
I actually save my work to an e-mail account set up specifically for saving my files. Unfortunately, I just forgot to send the updated version of some stories.
Although, box.net or a new blog might be a little easier to organize. I'll have to look into it.
Post a Comment