Note : never undertake a writing project using a library

[manuscriptx]

It took me roughly a week to write almost three good pages of seperate material over the three planned chapters to the novella.

Guess where it is? Gone. Being unemployed comes with some disadvantages. No money for a personal computer, so using library computers, wouldn't you know it? Everything that I've saved was lost.

The floppy I bought from them, their computers I used to type a week's worth of work is gone by way of an error and faultyness.

Nice.

 

[tartan_skirt]

Thats why you should email things to yourself. That way the attachment is always there either in you sent or out box. Yahoo! mail is my prefered mail because of the sheer amount of amount of free space you're given and they don't delete old stuff.

 

[manuscriptx]

I know about e-mail.

Yeah I already have half of one page already saved on my e-mail account.
In my case, I have both Yahoo and Hotmail accounts with other unrelated material saved.

It's just a cumbersome process making whole e-mail messages for attachments. It would be nice if you can just upload files into a folder without attaching anything to dummy e-mails.

 

[GreenKnight]

Ouch. You have my sympathy. From hard lessons like that I now back up obsessively.

Still, worse things have happened to other writers... T E Lawrence left the manuscript of Seven Pillars of Wisdom on a train, and had to write it all again.

 

[ValkyrieRaven88]

Lately I've taken to writing at school. It's much less distracting than writing at home on my computer, with the temptations of Solitaire and iTunes and whatnot.

 

[manuscriptx]

Don't forget the most sinful tempation of all :

Internet Pornography.

 

[Marquis Rex]

There are pitfalls to having a career and working also.
I come home from work, with no creative juices or energy left at all.
Everything goes into engine design and analysing combustion burn rates or dyno results.
I have my current planned novel timeline pretty much set. While finishing off a piece about the main characters laborious day at work- I rememebered when I STARTED writing this- when I was last in Finland- i.e more than a year ago! I can't believe it's taken me over a year to write this little!

 

[manuscriptx]

writing hobbies

Shouldn't be much of a surprise.

If you spend most of you're real invested time with engine R&D, you're less likely to spontaneously write a Shakespeare novel.

 

[novella]

What's a 'Shakespeare novel'?

 

[RobertM]

I had to reply to Marquis Rex's notes on the difficulty of writing and working an outside job. Been there/done that, as they say.

One thing I found that helps: Try to take a nap after work...and THEN do some writing.
During the day, I run an upscale housecleaning business in Seattle. We have four employees and do homes for execs from Microsoft, Boeing, Starbucks, etc. After five years, I decided I liked doing it. (lol) The first year...I didn't even tell my friends. Being a guy, and all...

I get off work about 3-4 pm, go home, eat, rest/nap....THEN work on the OTHER LIFE. One pays the bills, one is much more fun. You decide which is which.

Anyway, in the last two years I have managed to write three novels and half of another (with British author Geoff Nelder). Everything is balanced pretty good.

 

[sirmyk]

What's a 'Shakespeare novel'?

My favorite Shakespeare novel is Gone With the Wind.

 

[Honeybee]

To manuscriptx, have you tried using Google Documents? I use this when I'm at work and get inspired about something so I can then access it at home (or anywhere else I happen to be). Also you can get hold of some very cheap laptops. If you're just using it as a glorified word processor you don't need anything particularly whizzy. I got one for about £300 and I've seen them for less. Then you just need to find a friend who'll 'lend' you a copy of Office..!

 

[manuscriptx]

The tools to write.

The best tool for writing a computer, at least in my view, is using a personal computer. I use the library only because that's where the free usage of computers are.

I don't know of any library that would let individuals ' rent ' out for free notebook computers as they do library books.

What a place that would be eh?

 

[novella]

My favorite Shakespeare novel is Gone With the Wind.

OMG, I forgot totally about that one. I like when Ashley stabs Rhett on the steps of the Senate and Scarlett drinks the poison. Fave line: "Rough winds do shake the darling balls of Ashley." That's a damn good beach read.