im a super saver! i save books, comics, pictures, hot wheels, greeting cards and just lots of little stuff. one of my brothers says im a junk collector. ha ha. for me saving stuff thats special to me is just real important. so for sure saving what i write is way important.
the other day i got rolling on my wip and the words just got flying at me like a meteor shower. in just a little time i did 3000 words! it felt sooooo good. and i didnt stop not one time to eat a peanut butter cup. ok grab a kleenex cause here comes some sad saver stuff…
ack! ack! and one more BIG ACK!!! when i got it opened so i could do more writing all those 3000 words were GONE!
i hope youre not gonna think im a big baby but i cried big tears and shhhh dont tell on me but i yelled out some real bad words. ugh! good thing no one was home. i got sooooo mad at my self i wanted to just smack my head up on the computer. then i didnt wanna write on that story anymore cause i liked so much what i had wrote i didnt think i could ever do it so good again.
sometimes you just gotta talk to someone when stuffs all outta whack. so me and my cp miss sharon talked on the phone. i got a surprise knowing she lost writing stuff before and it could happen to any writer. she said i jut gotta just learn from doing a mistake and find a way not to do it. then i got feeling lots better. thanks miss sharon!
x
x
now i got big yellow SAVE stickys stuck on the computer and all over the place and one pasted on my forehead. ha ha. maybe i could need a SAVE tattoo on the back of my hand. from now on im gonna be a
SUPER SAVER WRITER!
how bout you? did you ever forget and not save something you wrote or lose stuff you wrote? how do you make sure your remember to save stuff?
… hugs from lenny
Hi Lenny - often .. but I work in Word and it hangs on to a draft for me - but I do lose websites .. the RSS tells me I've read it & off it disappears .. then I forget where was that photo .. where was that article .. BUT your story - now that's unfair and a great loss - hope your head has recovered? Thank goodness for Miss Sharon .. excellent you have a shoulder to cry on - and another writer ... ugh - I weep tears with you .. keep writing though - we love your posts, stories, tales of life .. cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteHi Lenny! Sorry this happened to you. I know how frustrating it can be. I learned my lesson to, when the power turned out and I lost what I was working on. Ever since then, I save every page or so, so I won't lose anything if the power goes out or something. Good luck with the words!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry you lost so many words. I've had that happen at work on occasion when I'm writing an important letter. It's so annoying to have to re-write it. miss sharon's advice is good to just go on. We all have things in life that we have to go on from. Hope you try to write the 3000 words again. You might be surprised.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, I've lost stuff before!! My newest version of Microsoft Word does "autosave" and if the computer reboots itself overnight while I'm asleep (kind of creepy that the computer does stuff while I'm not there), it will save a copy of what I left on the desktop.
ReplyDeleteBut in spite of all that, accidents do happen! I started making it a habit to hit the save button every time I pause in typing to think or reread, and now I do it automatically.
My daughter recently freaked out over losing a new chapter she wrote. She cried and said bad words, too. (And she's 14.)
Oh yes, I bet there isn't one person who hasn't done that! I hit save A LOT now when I'm writing. I'm glad you had someone to talk to so you could feel better about it.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry you lost your story, Lenny! That's terrible. But Miss Sharon was right, it can happen to anyone. It's certainly happened to me.
ReplyDeleteThe good news is that your story is never really gone. You might not have the actual words you wrote anymore, but even writing them down and then losing them will make you a better writer.
You've heard of "the agony of defeat"? This is what's known as "the agony of delete." I think it's happened to most writers, and it's definitely not fun! So sorry it happened to you.
ReplyDeleteLenny, I always email stuff to myself every time I add or change something in a story I'm working on, so if my laptop ever freaks out and breaks I just have to look it up in my email. Never throw anything you write away! I have notebooks and scraps of paper stashed all over my house too! It always comes in handy! ;)
ReplyDeleteBig hugs!!!
Hilary
NOOOOO! That is the worst! I have lost things before too because of that stupid save button. If only I had pushed it.
ReplyDeleteI hope you will be able to retype your story. I'm so sorry.
I think all writers have lost some words. I'm sorry it happened to you!
ReplyDeleteOuch! That's a hard lesson to learn, isn't it?! I read your post to my students--they LOVE your blog!! I always tell them to save early and save often. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, that's SOOOOOOO painful!!!! I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, my hard drive crashed 2 years ago and I lost my first 3 novels. Thankfully, I had hard copies of them, but they'll need retyping if I ever get back to them, ugh.
ReplyDeleteOh Lenny! I hear you, my friend. Happens to me all the time. I think we should start a super-saver club for people who are brain-dead and forget to save their work. At the very least, we should get a cushion for our foreheads so that when we want to smack our head on the computer/desk/etc. we won't get a bump.
ReplyDeleteOh so many times, I don't even want to think about it! I'm so sorry you lost your story-part, but I'm sure when you re-write it, it will be even better!
ReplyDeleteIt's such a bummer to lose stuff you wrote. I lost a bunch of stuff at the beginning of the year but thank goodness I backed up my writing so it was mostly pictures and music. Don't be too upset by the stuff you lost. you might still remember what you wrote when you go back to write it again.
ReplyDeleteHi Lenny! I'm glad you were able to take a lesson from this awful experience. It's really hard when you are working on a project and something bad happens. It sounds like it's happened to more that just you and me.
ReplyDeleteI like what Miss Shannon said, "Save early and save often."
Oh man, that stinks, but now you'll never forget to save again and maybe the new stuff you write will be better than what you lost! I didn't save once in college and lost eight pages! I was so so so upset! I learned my lesson too! :)
ReplyDeleteI think this has happened to anyone who spends significant time on the computer. I can remember once when I was working on a new project schedule. It took us all day to get it just write and the last moment before I could save it and print we lost power. I was so mad steam was coming out of my ears and my hair was shooting off fire sparks. I was only seconds away from throwing said computer out the window.
ReplyDeleteNo, I didn't do that. While I would have felt better for a second, it would have vanished the moment I realized my computer was gone.
But I can tell you this, when I went back to recreate it I saw that I missed something critical that I may have missed had I not has to spend another eight hours with that schedule. What I learned; there really can be a silver lining in every experience. Although, sometimes you have to look really hard to find it.
Yikes! I'm so sorry! Losing that much stinks - and I would have said a few bad words too. I hate when I lose stuff - and it's happened more than once. I lost some when my computer stopped working completely one day. Since then I've been so much better at saving. I even bought an external hard drive. I just have to remember to use it all the time!
ReplyDeleteSorry Lenny!
ReplyDeleteYep, I've lost my writing before as well. Sometimes I can't take my computer, so I write in a notebook...and my wonderful little girl ripped out that page and into shreds BEFORE I got it typed up. I was not too happy, but sometimes things just happen.
Oh no! I know just how you feel lenny. But a very famous writer once had ALL his manuscripts STOLEN at a train station. His wife was looking after them, ahem. But he just shrugged his shoulders and said he'd be better off just writing them all again anyhow. Great attitude. The writer was Ernest Hemingway, one of my favourites!
ReplyDeleteDenise
Oooh, I know just how that feels. I lost a great story once, and the slam-bang beginning of a novel, too ('cause I saved a different file using the same name, and hadn't backed up the original - ACK).
ReplyDeleteAnd as you can tell from all the above, you're not alone in this at all.
Microsoft Word has an autosave feature (Tools - Options - Save - Autosave), which I set to one minute, and you might also consider Dropbox, which automatically saves your work online.
You could also use a thumb drive to back up your work every day, even draft by draft, in case the computer goes out.
The important thing is you're writing, and no one can take away from you!
It sounds like Miss Sharon gave you some great advice! I know what you mean about not wanting to rewrite something you already wrote - it just doesn't seem like you could rewrite as well as you did the first time. I do think you should try again, though. You obviously feel pretty strongly about the story to write 3000 words with no peanut butter cups! :)
ReplyDeleteOh man! I can't tell you how many times I've lost work. And shh, but I cry when it happens, too. And I feel all yucky in my gut until I make myself write again. Miss Sharon gives great advice though.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck writing it all again!
I was so excited to hear that you had written 3000 words and didn't even eat a peanut butter cup. That is a double wow! I'd have had to have a chocolate break for sure. Sorry to hear you lost those 3000 words by not saving. I've been there. After a couple of times of forgetting to save, I don't do that anymore. Uh, oh. Should I knock on wood? Now that I've said that I don't forget to save, I'll probably forget.
ReplyDelete: )
Have a great day!
Oh, man! That is sad--3000 words is a lot. I'm glad our dear Sharon called that day. She's just what you needed (and what all of us need). :o)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with future days of super saving!!!!
Hugs, buddy!
Gosh, Lenny, I don't blame you in the least for crying or saying bad words. I would have too! I've lost things I've written too, though not that many words.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think what Matt said is very wise. You may have lost those actual 3000 words, but the act of writing them made you a better writer.
I'm smiling thinking of you with post-it notes stuck all over.
Oh, Lenny! I feel your pain - that happened to me once. It's so frustrating! Now I save a lot and I also email my Word to back to me at the end of every writing session, just in case.
ReplyDeleteHey Lenny!
ReplyDeleteOh no, how frustrating for you! If I ever do enough writing, I would save it onto something called...ummmm...oh yeah....a 'memory stick'.
Have fun and happy writing, Lenny!:)
Hugs and smiles, Mr. Gary :)
I have done this before! It is so painful when it happens. Made me very sad, too. It's okay to feel disappointed. All you can do is try harder next time to remember. I think the sticky notes are a very good idea!
ReplyDeleteOh, how awful! Yes, I've done this and it's such a pain. Now I try to hit the save button pretty frequently and after a day of writing I save it to my Dropbox folder. I also have iDrive as a backup that syncs my computer every night around midnight.
ReplyDeleteHope it doesn't happen again!
I once almost lost a WHOLE MANUSCRIPT because I didn't back up the book or email it to myself and my computer crashed. Lucky for me I had emailed it to a critique partner the day before, and she still had it. Whew! That close call was enough for me to make sure to always make sure I had a copy somewhere else at all times!
ReplyDeleteAngela @ The Bookshelf Muse
*hugs* I've done the same thing, Lenny. Now I save my stuff all the time. I save to the computer, my UBS and backup external hard drive. lol.
ReplyDeleteWe've all been there. I did save my stuff, but the computer decided not to actually bother. And yes, there were definitely tears involved.
ReplyDeleteNow, I save my ms on my computer, my flashstick, and I even email it to myself (in case lightning strikes and burns down the house).
Poor you, Lenny! We've all lost stuff. A trick I use it to e-mail drafts to myself. Then it's sitting in cyberspace, waiting for me if something goes wrong.
ReplyDeleteI've also cried and used bad words. The writer's life gets ugly sometimes!
I think this is one of the rites of passage for us writers. Not sure I've lost as much as 3,000 words, but I have lost LOTS of stuff over the years 'cause I didn't save in time.
ReplyDeleteCan I give you a great big hug? It's totally happened to me before too! I came over here to give yo au follow and then realized I already do! I have a seven-year-old boy that sounds a lot like you, and I hope that's true because you are just so very special! xoxo
ReplyDeleteI work with a program called Scrivener. It automatically saves my work for me. I'm using the free Beta version of the program but it's really good.
ReplyDeleteOh. I've lost stuff, too. I'm so sorry. The sooner you get back on, the better your chances are of remembering what you wrote. Of course, it'll probably be even better the second time around.
ReplyDeleteLosing any kind of hard work like that is heartbreaking, extremely frustrating and downright annoying! I have lost things I've written many times, but the worst is losing my digital paintings because Corel Painter 12 crashes on me. I have to remember to Save very often. I have lost hours and hours of painting that I could never recreate. Why do bad painting never crash? lol!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your blog Lenny, you are a gem!
Hang in there and don't forget to save;!
Cheers,
Joan
So sorry, Lenny! I've had that happen to me - it is so aggravating. I do my best to hit save often, and then back stuff up to my flash drive now. Sometimes I email myself the files too as an extra backup.
ReplyDeleteHave a good week! :)
So sorry that happened to you, Lenny! Most of us often have to learn the hard way, as you did, and I have before as well. It sure makes a big impression on you and helps you to remember to save when that happens! Hope you can get it all written again, and it may just be even better than before!
ReplyDeleteHi Lenny!!! I hope everything is awesome in your little corner of the world! :) And I love that you save things that are special to you - I do the same thing. I've got cute little notes that boys gave me in 9th grade - and let me tell you, that was a while ago. :) And, yes - I've lost some of my writing, too! Never a good thing - but, luckily, as writers - our imagination is always working and sometimes you can recapture that part of your story. And it might even be better! Happy writing, my friend!
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how many times I've lost what I've written. It sure teaches you to get in the habit of saving every few minutes, though.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Lenny!
ReplyDelete