I lost my first novel a few days - there was only one copy and it had like over 60 pages completed, it fucking sucked. But oh well, have any of you had any similar experiences? I lost it on the way back from the library.
Write down everything you remembered, so you can recreate those 60 pages. By the way, it's not a novel yet, if it's only 60 pages. That's about three chapters/7,000 words. The average novel is 80,000 words, so you lost less than 10% of a manuscript that might have ended up as a novel. Just to put it in perspective...
I haven't had the situation. But if you can recall most of the writing, I would suggest using a computer so you can save it. After all, you're going to start over anyways. If you do use a computer the second time around, back up your files, too. Do anything and everything not to lose it.
i lost my memory stick with 30 pages of work on it and i was guted but lukily for me have a hard copy so i can type it up again but luily for me it is now becoming a draft so that i can make a better virsion and inprove so sometimes losing your work is a blessing in deskise hold on in there
I use Dropbox. There is always a copy of each of my works on every computer, via Dropbox, and a copy on the server.
Oh NO!! How did that happen? I'm sorry to hear that, it can only imagine how it must feel... Hope you'll be able to reconstruct it and for the future, save everything on a memory stick or something, preferably more than one place.
I've lost scenes before but not whole chapters worth of story. That would be terrible. I think I would cry. I mean it seriously.
I lost all my short stories a few weeks back, managed to recover most of them (e-mails and such). Since then I have found a program called dropbox which allows you to save your files on a server and access them where ever. All files strictly remain your property and is really handy if your lacking a datastick or overly afraid of losing your hard work http://www.dropbox.com/
60 pages is way more than 7000 words - depending on how it was written. If it was typed it could be 25,000 words! But losing any amount of work sucks - I get mad when I just lose the latest edit of a single chapter! But I always have backups because I email my work to myself after every major change. I also have it on more than one computer. Sucky as this experience was, I hope it served it's purpose in demonstrating why you must make copies!
My first story I got published had a sequel that I wrote, and also a second sequel after that. However, I lost those (had them on floppy disks back in high school, don't know where they are now.) They were ok, but I don't see myself pursuing them. Besides, they're probably gone and destroyed by now. I have other works that I am doing now, better than that because I am more experienced. If I found those disks and files, I would definitely keep them, but I do feel a bit bad losing one of my creations, no matter how bad it was...
I always save my documents in more than one directory, and on more than one device (hard drive, flash drive, other flash drive, SD card in camera)
yes, i've lost stuff from the computer in inexplicable ways... and yes, it sucks big time... since then, i've been more careful when hitting the 'save' button and backed all up on a flash drive...
I've looked up this dropbox because it seems pretty cool, but am I right if i got this as you can choose if to make the dokuments public or private? how does it actually WORK?
I am really cautious and I back up my works on 5-6 different computers and about 12 thumb drives which sit in a box.
hahaha, nice to hear that almost all writers seem to be a little paranoid when it comes to backing up their work...
I notice that nobody's even mentioned printing the stuff as a last-ditch backup. I realize that printing it doesn't save you retyping, but the work of writing is much, much more than the typing.
Maybe because it often still needs a lot of work, and printing every version of it would feel like a waste? But you're right, It could be an idea. especially for when you've finished writing and put it aside before reading it through. a paper copy will probably give a totally different feeling. I'll think of it myself, because in my case it could also have another function: I write all the scenes randomly and it could be a way of putting them together in different order to see what works best. will think about it!
I have numerous drafts printed out (all in different stages; I don't throw any away) for myself and a select few others to read. I just don't consider them "backups" since they are not the latest iteration.
Once I didn't have my work backed up, and my laptop died. I lost maybe thirty pages. That was years ago. I ended up rewriting and having the characters do something different than what I had them do originally, and the story improved. Then I decided to get a typewriter. A classic Corona from the 1940's. "Now when you lose your work," my artist friend said, "it won't be because you forgot to save a file. It'll be because you got too drunk and excited about your novel in the bar and left it under a bench. Isn't that a more creative way to lose things?" As an idea I loved the typewriter but in reality the damn thing was a pain. I've got a netbook now. I can take it anywhere and I email my stories to myself so I don't lose them. I also have a notebook for short stories (pen and paper -- yes -- it's not dead yet).
I have an early version on paper, and all current versions of manuscripts and all other documents are saved on my laptop, my USB stick and transferred to my wife's PC. So there's at least three locations where I can find my latest versions. Once a week I sent myself document per email. I don't use Dropbox, I don't trust the privacy issues. And, I almost forgot, I have the finished manuscript of the first novel on my Kindle. I use my Kindle, instead of printing out the manuscript, for editing my work. It reads like a real e-book, but I cannot make any changes to the manuscript, just high-light and make notations that I can view in a list for when I re-write/edit the manuscript on my laptop.
