What if IT happened?

[PAUL C]

To set the scene.

You write lots of stories. post them on a single site. it dies. no copies.

Would you try to re-write what you had posted before? Draw a line and start again? Or somewhere in between?

I'd go and lay down in a darkened room.

 

[Icingsugar]

To set the scene.

You write lots of stories. post them on a single site. it dies. no copies.

Would you try to re-write what you had posted before? Draw a line and start again? Or somewhere in between?

I'd go and lay down in a darkened room.

Did it happen?

Then bummer. Big time.

But to answer the question: It just won't happen. Not again.

I have got three years of creative works, stories, half a novel, music, digitally edited photographies, more music, on a hard drive that will not spin anymore. It's my fucking soul in ones and zeros. It lies on my bookshelf awaiting the day when I feel that I'm weathy enough to have the data on it restored (would cost approx $1500, using the same kind of technique FBI use for such things, supposedly). I'm told that as long as I don't use it, the data will still be there.

I'm all about backup bordering on paranoia these days.

 

[PAUL C]

what if your bookshelf dies?

What if the back up dies?

Would you re-write word for word. Perhaps take the opportunity to change, to alter, to delete?

Make the changes you wouldn't do today.

 

[BlackSnake]

To set the scene.

You write lots of stories. post them on a single site. it dies. no copies.

Would you try to re-write what you had posted before? Draw a line and start again? Or somewhere in between?

I'd go and lay down in a darkened room.

I would turn off my computer, go have a beer, and other things, and then come back the next day and start as if it was the first day.

 

[destinie21]

Re: Re: What if IT happened?

I would turn off my computer, go have a beer, and other things, and then come back the next day and start as if it was the first day.

What are the other things?

I have my stuff handwritten B4 it's typed so I'd just have to type it again.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

What she said.

 

[OldnotDead]

Partially happened

Well, I was going to go swimming, since the storm is gone and it's warm again. But this partially did happen to me.

One of my stories has about five chapters. somewhere, somehow, a revision of chapter 3 got saved as #2. Then the backup, when it was 'synched' copied the new version and it was wasted.

I rewrote it. I changed it. I think it's better. But it was only one chapter. Thank goodness. But now I have to rewrite 3, 4 and 5 <G>. they need to be better.

*sigh*

OnD

http://www.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=135309

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

OldnotDead,

There are numerous horror stories of something similar happening in the pre-computer era. Some of the writers were able to re-write duplicates, others had to create seriously revised versions. I once lost a year's worth of newspaper columns. I was able to re-copy those, of course, but it was a pain.

As for what I'd do if I lost a whole novel or a collection of short stores--well, for starters, I'd be sick, then drunk, then hung-over. After that I'd probably try to re-write the ones that might have the best chance of being marketable, which at this stage of my my writing career would mean none, and try to forget about the rest.

RF

 

[MathGirl]

I think that "worst case scenario" might be a good thing for my stuff. I wrote everything in about a six month period, and I've felt no urge to write anything since. I doubt very much if I'd ever try to rewrite them. Oh, maybe "Frieda."
MG
Ps. DurtGurl, of course, would be devastated if her entire ovary was to be lost to the world. The world would be better off, though. After all, "Me and Mom" is a festering boil on the alabaster buttock of the literary arts.

 

[deliciously_naughty]

To set the scene.

You write lots of stories. post them on a single site. it dies. no copies.

Would you try to re-write what you had posted before? Draw a line and start again? Or somewhere in between?

I'd go and lay down in a darkened room.

Everything is in my harddrive...however, I need to print this out. As far as what would I try to reproduce...
The trek fanfic...
For Love of Snow White
Haunted Lover
My geek piece

The rest I would mourn, but could live with losing after crying my eyes out.

To be honest, the stuff I write for lit (for the most part) has been about finding myself as a writer again after a long hiatus, and to build my confidence. I've got that confidence now.

However, if I lost my novel in progress without backups I don't think I'd be able to survive without tranquilizers for about a month. Then I'd get my ass back to work.

 

[damppanties]

IT has happened. I lost the 5 chapter story I wrote last year. There were no back-ups. It was on my hard drive. I had finished parts 1-4 and was polishing the 5th before posting all when I lost them. I'm still mourning. Deeply. Inconsolably.

I've thought about rewriting but I'm not sure. It was good the first time. I don't think I could rewrite it that way. I have a feeling it wouldn't come out with the same enthusiasm now.

I thought it was my best effort to date too. (What I really need is a smiley (cryey) where rivers are flowing down his cheeks.)

 

[Icingsugar]

Re: what if your bookshelf dies?

What if the back up dies?

Then I'd seriously consider jumping off the balcony for about ten seconds. Then I'd go get slightly drunk, sing off-key and make an ass off myself the rest of the day, before ending up pouting about the incident on a convenient nice, warm shoulder to cry on at the end of the day. Thus realising that I really don't have that much to complain about.

Then I'd probably attempt to recerate stuff, get bored, and make something new instead..

 

[Why]

Save as much as you can onto floppy disc or burn them on to CD. print them out in hard copy. Send copies to a trusted friend.

Both my novels are multi copied from the first complete draft down to the last edit.

Same for all my short stories.

All the important work, important to me is copied. That includes various "Role playing" threads here and else where, just in case.

Lost a lot of my early work when my poor old machine, running windows 3.11 crashed. Swore never to lose anything else....

 

[oggbashan]

Back-ups

I'm obsessed with back-ups.

I write on my computer at my shop. I write on my computer at home. Every day I copy that day's work on to a floppy and put the files on to the other computer. Then I keep the floppy forever.

I still have boxes of five and a quarter floppy floppies with correspondence and professional writing. I've transferred the contents long ago to three and a half inch floppies except the one fictional story I hadn't finished and had given up on.

In another thread I wrote about resurrecting that story.

Then I have the printouts filed as well.

Once I lost a whole day's work on a very large spreadsheet because the mainframe had a massive failure. We had yesterday's back-up but that day's work had gone forever. It took me a week to duplicate that day's work and delayed an important project. Cost the company about £50,000 for the delay.

I changed my dumb terminal to one with a eight inch floppy (it was that long ago) and saved my work to the floppy hourly.

Now I have Word set to back up every minute.

If, despite my precautions, I lost a story, I would rewrite it but it would not be word for word. It would have the same plot, the same characters, but would be a different story. I keep all earlier drafts as well. Sometimes the story turns into a blind alley and I go back a few drafts to start again.

Anything I post on Lit is filed on a floppy and two separate machines. Yesterday got me worried. I couldn't access Literotica from 10am to 3pm BST. Had Lit died? I checked that I had all my current stories on file.

I have had stories posted on adult Yahoo Groups that just vanished. As yet I have lost nothing.

Og

 

[damppanties]

Re: Back-ups

I couldn't access Literotica from 10am to 3pm BST. Had Lit died?

Og

Yes, I was devastated too. I thought it was my ISP which didn't allow me access to Lit sometime back but then a friend told me it was Lit.

I waited for it to come back. It always does.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

There's a lot of stuff I've written that I wouldn't be interested in writing again because I just don't think it turned out that well and I think mankind will get along just fine without it. I'd estimated that at about 75% of what I've done.

The other 25%, the stuff I really liked, yeah, I'd probably try and write it again. I wouldn't push it though. If it didn't want to come, or if I could think of something better to write, then I wouldn't force it.


---dr.M.

 

[ffreak]

Happened to me with the opening to a novel. I liked the opening, but some tone changes were suggested, so I rewrote it. I didn't like the rewrite as much so I went to the backup to retrieve the original. It had been copied badly and was unusable. I have never been able to get the magic back into the opening and the novel died. That was 6 years ago.

-FF (trying to find the magic again, it may be somewhere here at Lit)

 

[Wicked-N-Erotic]

I've lost so much on my computer for one reason or another. Now I print them out in multiple and give copies to my best friend for safe keeping , burn them to CD and save them on my computer. I hope I have covered enogh ground that I'll never have to worry about losing them again.

Side note;
As I'm writting a story I burn it to CD after some many paragraphs, I've lost them right in the middle of writting before also.


Wicked

 

[Chicklet]

I~ve got all my stuff on disk and backed up on our extra hard drive. i also have it printed out, plus most people i know have extra copies on paper...but I~d still CRY!

(i~m in brazil so the keyboard is doing crazy shit when i\ try to type...sorry)

 

[Svenskaflicka]

After all, "Me and Mom" is a festering boil on the alabaster buttock of the literary arts.

Dear MG and DG,

"...ON the alabaster buttock.."???

Svenskaflicka
Minding Prepostions

PS!

 

[Reshbod]

That happened to me once, but since it was something I was doing just to relax and for fun, I was less than diligent in backing it up. And wouldn't you know it, it was the greatest story ever written in history. I was able to re-write it and say what I wanted to say, it just didn't seem to have the same spirit the lost story did.

 

[Guest]

"...ON the alabaster buttock.."???

Svenska, you're concerned with the preposition? It's one of the worst metaphors ever to soil a Lit. post.

Metaphorically sensitive*,

Perdita

*sensitive to metaphor, not sensitive metaphorically.

 

[ffreak]

Hey Chicklet! Esperança você está tendo uma estadia grande em Rio.

-FF (waiting to read all about it)

ps. best memories are being with other people

 

[Icingsugar]

(i~m in brazil so the keyboard is doing crazy shit when i\ try to type...sorry)

Ain't it rainy down there this time of year?

/Ice - carioca wannabe

 

[Icingsugar]

It's one of the worst metaphors ever to soil a Lit. post.

I think it was kinda...well...cute. Bizarre, but cute. A bit like it's creator.