Oh just livid...

Pamster · Oct 2, 2007

I DID back it up but it was before I finished it...Darnit! I lost 3,500 words on a finished book, I thought I had backed up the right copy but apparently I didn't, I backed up the incomplete one, has this ever happened to you?

You're sure you saved it and then reformat or install a new hard drive, get a new computer whatever and poof find out you lost some of your FINISHED book? Sheesh I am mad at myself. It's only 3500 words, but damn, I was sure I had saved the proper copy, honestly I am just livid over this, it was a Christmas story too...Oh well, maybe I'll have it finished AGAIN by this coming Xmas... :rant:

Pamster

the bumbling fool...

JLCwrites · Oct 2, 2007

Ohhhh.. So sorry that happened!
Maybe your re-write will turn out even better than the one that went missing.
Sometimes things happen for a reason. (I hope anyway!)

jennifer75 · Oct 2, 2007

Aww...have a drink.

the words will all come back I promise, maybe better! (think of it like that...)

Voyager · Oct 2, 2007

Dang, only 3,500 words? That's a lot. But if it makes you feel better, I've actually hit no when asked, "do you want to save changes?" by accident. It's infuriating, isn't it? I'm so sorry you lost your stuff. But don't kick yourself too hard, what you write to replace it will probably be even better.

Pamster · Oct 2, 2007

You guys are right, I shouldn't beat myself up over it right?

I just feel so livid I could make the effort to do multiple backups and backup the incompleted file, it's because I had two files with the same name and one with the #'s was the completed file and I went with the unnumbered one. Stupid mistake, won't make it again.

*goes to make dinner and to contemplate a beer*

sneakers145 · Oct 2, 2007

I do that, too. I've got final copies, absolute final copies, and finished copies so how to know which is really which?? LOL

Sorry that happened.

avid-dreamer · Oct 2, 2007

THAT SUCKS!!

and sadly I know the feeling. I learned the hard way when I once lost an entire chapter. I was lucky to have most of it scribbled on some tattered and food-stained paper. What I do now is save EVERYTIME I work on a manuscript. Even if I just add one word. I save on my computer, on a disk and on my Zen Stone external drive.
The Zen Stone is a really neat little device...it has good memory space and is smaller than a disk. If I want to take my work with me on vacation I can just slip the thing in my shirt pocket with it's short connector-wire-thingy and be on the move.
Nothing sucks more than losing your work, but if it happens don't sit there and sob about it - just get that butt in a chair and get to work - you'll be done retyping in no time!!

Prawn · Oct 2, 2007

Bummer. I have my MS word autosave set to one minute, but still I sometimes do something funky with files names. This is why I back up everyday. At most I will lose one day's work.

Pamster · Oct 2, 2007

I will have to rewrite it, better then it was before since I can't remember what it was like before and I haven't looked at it in about six months I kinda have no choice but to rewrite better then it was.

I like the idea of removeable Hard drives, I might ask for one for Xmas from hubby.

Mr. Fix · Oct 2, 2007

This happens to me all the time...

I just consider it another chance to re-write! :snoopy:

Yeah, it still sucks tho'

althrasher · Oct 2, 2007

Prawn, how do you do that?

shakeysix · Oct 2, 2007

88 pages GWTW

my first computer was defective and i was too inexperienced to notice. or too stupid. i forget which. the computer was only about 2 months old. i was transferring my failed novels from handwritten notebooks to 'my documents'. i had all of fruit salad --300+ pages and was working on another. i had about 88 pages down. it was after one a.m. and suddenly the thing froze up. then it started doing one scan disk after another, freezing in between. i had been typing every night after school, into the wee hours, and it was all gone. a tek guy helped me to save fruit salad but stairbirds in love, the document i was working on, would not pull up.
i had to mail in the tower. they kept it about 2 weeks, said it was defective, sent me a new one and refunded my money, too.
all i ever could get from their explanation was that my drives started maddogging each other. anyway as soon as the new computer came i started typing again. really nothing else to do. --s6

Giant Baby · Oct 2, 2007

Oh I feel your pain.

It taught me a great trick, though- I email myself my ms about once a day- that way it's "out there" if anything happens to my computer.

Pamster · Oct 2, 2007

That is what I did, it was emailed backup, but it only works with the right file...LOL!

I will be working on it after I finish reading "On Writing" I am getting from the library tomorrow.

PeeDee · Oct 2, 2007

I went to mail out a story today and discovered that the edited "file" is actually a one-page version of the story from an earlier draft. THe other six thousand words are only in a printed-out form. So I didn't lose anything, like you did, but it means I have to sit down and type up seven thousand words before I can send it out. Ugh.

See? We should all write on paper, huh?

(Then we'd get "Ugh! House burned down! Lost 6,000 good words! Also, wife & kids....but THAT WAS A GREAT CHAPTER!")

Bourbon Street · Oct 2, 2007

Sorry about that. It's happened to me too. Polished up a big chunk of a chapter, added some much needed detail, had things really dialed in, went to open it the next day and only had the original, unpolished version. Man, was I pissed off, though mainly at myself.

What can you do, though? Rewrite...rewrite..rewrite...

Prawn · Oct 2, 2007

Some scanners have OCR, optical character recognition, which means you could scan it and get a text file.

Wolvel · Oct 2, 2007

I guess I do it the hard way, I handwrite the first draft then put into the pc for editing. On the plus side if I do loose any words all I have to do is check the original on paper to know where I was going with it.

MelodyO · Oct 2, 2007

I've done the exact same thing, so my heart goes out to you. The problems start when you have Chapter 8, Chapter8Sept, and Chap8beta as file names. Heh. It does make one want to scream into a pillow, though, doesn't it? ::hugs and vodka shots::

Pamster · Oct 3, 2007

I do outlines on paper, but this means I have to find that notebook that the outline is in since it's the final chapter I can't remember what I was going for in this Xmas story and want to do it right, so I have to locate that and then get it cranked out.

My son destroyed my printer all in one and I lost the power supply for it in the move so I can't scan anymore, I don't think mine had that feature Prawn, but hopefully the next one I get will.

It sounds really interesting.

Billingsgate · Oct 3, 2007

There's a legend about Winsor McCay, the cartoonist, illustrator and animation pioneer. I believe this story is true.

He had finished around 60 illustrations for a book. If you know his work, it is quite elaborate and detailed. Though knowing how prolific he was, this may have been only two or three weeks work. He was carrying the work in a folder across one of the bridges in New York to deliver to the publisher. A big gust of wind pulled the folder from his grasp, the folder fell open, and all his artwork flew into the East River.

He turned around, walked home, and started the illustrations all over again.

Feel better? 3500 words is nothing.

Prawn · Oct 3, 2007

Also Harlan Ellison, author of Invisible Man, published only one novel in his life time. He had written another, but it burned in a fire.

PeeDee · Oct 3, 2007

Prawn said:
Also Harlan Ellison, author of Invisible Man, published only one novel in his life time. He had written another, but it burned in a fire.

Of course, he's written more short stories and articles and edited more anthologies than most of us combined, so....

Maryn · Oct 3, 2007

Pamster, your rewrite will be better. Surely you've improved in the six months since you last messed with it, right?

Here's a small trick I've found useful when messing with different versions. The current one I leave in normal font, color, etc. The old one(s) I change the color or something else clearly noticeable. I don't save the change when I close it, but as I'm bouncing back and forth, I'm not about to start making changes to the blue one instead of the one in black.

Maryn, who misses WordPerfect at times (colored BGs)

auntybug · Oct 3, 2007

I have gotten in the habit of saving everything twice! I have 2 documents on my laptop named 1 & 2 and also I have it on a flash drive that I guard w/ my life! I got tired of "I know I saved that change - where the hell did it go?"

Oh just livid...

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