This week: Bricked Up Edited by: Annette  
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| "Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master." ~ Christian Lous Lange |
Bricked Up
Losing precious words to the gaping void is traumatizing. Years ago, I spent a whole day, eight hours to be exact, writing several pages that I really loved. I was typing in Word and didn't think anything bad could happen to me.
But then, it did.
The computer seized up. Blue Screen of Death.
After a couple of days, I had figured out how to resuscitate the machine, but it forced me to reset to a day three days earlier. All of my work was gone.
It took me over four weeks to recreate the text that I had typed up in those eight hours. And even then, it was never the same. That magic of the first draft words, those that are raw and real and oh so perfect (in that moment) were lost to the ether.
Now, whenever I type a new text in Word, I start by setting up the whole document and I click the "Save" button every few minutes. (I know there is an automatic setting, but I like to be in control.)
I urge you: BACK YOUR WRITING UP! Right now. All of it.
One of the best ways to create a solid back up is to store it right here on Writing.Com in your portfolio. You don't have to show your writing. You can set it to private. But keep it here.
If you write here on the site, use the "Save and Edit" button frequently. The internet can wobble, but once it's saved, it's safe.
If you have the means, print your stories up on paper.
Save your writing to flash drives or external hard drives, burn it onto DVDs.
Send yourself a copy to your email address. As an attachment and also as text. Set up emails with two different providers so that you can use them as a double backup. If you have a trusted friend or relative, email your text to them also.
Whichever technique works best for you, use it. Don't ever trust your writing to only one medium. Your stories and poetry are worth all of the protection you can give them.
What safeguards against losing your precious writing do you have? |
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Replies to my last Noticing Newbies newsletter "Fifty Thousand Words"
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Item link: {item:2316530} Clean and simple.
"Guest Book & Portfolio Guide"
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R-item link: {r-item:2316530} Includes the item rating.
"Guest Book & Portfolio Guide" [E]
Ld-item link: {ld-item:2316530} Includes the intro line to be more inviting.
"Guest Book & Portfolio Guide" E: Come on inside, find something to read, or say hi. |
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Noticing Newbies: November 19, 2025 Issue [#13357]
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