Loose Ends




Yesterday, there was a slight chance that my house was about to go up in flames. There was crackling, snapping, and popping coming from a wall outlet, along with the smell of burnt pop-tarts—as Jordan described it.

I called 9-1-1, turned off the circuit breakers, got me, Jordan, and the dog out of the house. And then I went back in for one object. Just one thing was important enough for me to brave the not-yet a fire house. And truth be told, it was the only thing I considered saving.

My laptop.

And why? Because I’m knee-deep in edits and hadn’t backed up recently. I was not going to lose all the ground I’d made this past week. Not when I’d finally knocked down the wall of resistance Bix had thrown up to block me from making changes.

This week, I’ve cut a minor character, not to mention a few scenes that equaled around 6,000 words and added a subplot point that will have me rewiring a few scenes toward the end. But, by George, I think I’ve got it.

At least this round. And next week, I’m jumping back into the query pool.

So, at the end of the night, my outlet has been swapped out,my smoke detector has a new battery, and I finished reformatting and renumbering chapters. And I emailed myself a copy of my manuscript.

So, here’s a friendly reminder—backup. And the picture? Taken this summer in front of our Humane Society where Jordan volunteers. I just thought it was worth a chuckle. Have a great weekend!

PS--Congrats to all who got requests on Tuesday. All of us at Word Wranglers are rooting for you. Let us know if anything develops.Good luck!

Comments

  1. Wow, is that scary! So glad it turned out all right. My sister's house burned down when her kids were babies--awful. Anyway, did you get my msg that Crimson has a YA line that is full-on pubbing? Not just e-pub?

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    1. D--I did get that message and I've saved it for when I get ready to sub :)

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  2. When I first started writing, I lost a whole mss because I didn't back up, Learned my lesson. I always back up now, but not as often as I should.

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    1. Me too. I lost one when my Imac died completely. You'd think I'd back up more often, but when I get real involved I just don't think about it--like it's such a hard thing to do ;)

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  3. I lost one, too--I still think of it sometimes. Loved this post, way glad you, Jordan, and Bix are all safe!

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  4. Oh, backing up! I try to remember, but even the calendar-reminder things get pushed some times. I'm so glad your house is okay - and that you've got Bix on the ropes!!!

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    1. Thanks to your advice, I tightened up some earlier scenes--okay, deleted them--to get back to the basic story. Thanks again.

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  5. There is no excuse for this. Get Dropbox and SOS online backup. Both are free. I still would have saved the laptop.

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