Seriously! I was just getting into the rhythm of adding something important in chapter one of my novel. And right when I was really getting into it, BAM, the computer just turned off. I created this thread here because I wanted help on how to calm myself down. Do you know the feeling, my fellow writers? Do you know how it is to spend all of your entire energy and time into a chapter and then it just backfires on you? My headache is coming back I am extremely stressed the hell out right now. Any tips on how to calm down?
Short answer? Booze. Long answer? Well, still booze. Go pull away from yourself from your computer, watch TV, sit back and give yourself some time away from the stressful stuff. Also, some advice, get in the habit of saving constantly. Literally after every tiny thing you do.
Look on the brightside. It's not like the idea is gone. It's still there and you have a good idea of how it should be written. I have found that things become easier the more times I do something. So the second time should be a bit easier then the first. I would also recommend saving your work every so often. But I'd suggest just leaving it be for a bit and take a breather. Do something that relaxes you.
Ditto both of the above. When this happens to me, I have to take a step back and just breathe. I usually don't feel up to rewriting the piece for a few days or so. So step away, read a book, watch tv, crochet a blanket... whatever relaxes you and will take your mind off of it. Get away from it for a while and do something different, until you are itching to get back and rewrite the chapter. Since this does happen, I really do save save save! Every time I pause to consider my next sentence, I save it. It's so automatic that I find myself trying to save blog posts and facebook statuses before I post them. Rebuild your strength and motivation, then rewrite and save!
Ah hate when that happens It's made me all OCD about saving every few sentences! But a good way I use to calm down is either bash my bed/pillow a few times with my fist....best therapy out there or have a nice cuppa tea...
Hmm, If you use word, go to tools, save, and set the autosave button to save every five minutes or so. In the mean time, I like booze. Cheers.
Being that the op was five hours ago, then I take it, you'll be calmed down by now. I agree with; save every so often. Before I start writing I plug in a memory stick for back-up.
I also save constantly like other people said, but even doing this can not save your work. I lost an entire manuscript I was working on because my computer crashed. And I've lost chapters of novels this way as well. I have to make back up copies of everything now, but even doing that, you can lose stuff (and I have lost stuff) because you don't make back ups as often as you save. I lost a chapter last week that I now just finally re-wrote. It's VERY frustrating. Writing is hard work and losing all that hard work makes you just want to punch something or cry or do both.
I have autosave set for every 1 minute. That has saved me more than once when the computer had an issue.
Well, I re-wrote what I lost and its even better. Well, what I mean is what I wanted to get across sounded much more...uh, what's the word?
Hi, Should also add, use hard copy saves as well. By this I mean hard drives can crash, and all your documents, even those saved, can die with them. You should also do a regular back up to another drive. I use CD ROMs, and in theory copy my entire directory to them every week. (Sadly its more like monthly but that's just laziness on my part.) Having a separate copy on a disk also has advantages, since you can use them as evidence of the process of your writing on your novels over months, should things ever go to court for some reason or another. Cheers.
I once wrote up a fifty thousand word short novella about a young woman and her abusive husband. My stepdad -being the utter cuel **** that he is- decided to switch off my power, knowing fully well what I was doing, the powerrcut damaged my computer and I lost the entire file. You need someone to relate to? Me. I guess the best answer is to constantly save and maybe keep some drugs on hand to calm you the hell down from the large burst of rage you get from it.
I do this for all my written files with a thumb drive. After having my last lappy stolen out of my car (R.I.P. lappy!) I back up as much stuff as I possibly can. As for post-crash stress, I find taking a nap extremely helpful, if you have the time!
I gotta say my thanks to you all for helping me get through that. So, thank you. Without you members, I would have dwelled into nothingness and gave up on writing the story and moving onto something else (okay not so melodramatic lol).
If you want to be extremely safe do all your writing in Google Docs or have your document automatically save to a Drop Box folder.
The point of having your work stored offsite is very simple. In the event of a fire, flood, burglary, whatever and your computer is stolen you do not want to be royally screwed.
One time I wrote a whole play and left it in a cab. Then I called the cab company and they didn't know what I was talking about. The first rehearsal was in two days. I had to write the whole stupid thing over again. I was staying in my girlfriend's dorm and her computer wasn't working. I wrote the whole thing out again on computer paper, sitting in the cafeteria. It turned out awesome. Sometimes it happens. Whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.
