The Trouble With Computers and Not Backing up Files

Well, thanks to mum's computer suddenly committing suicide on us, (though frankly I suspect attempted murder as there is no sign of a note) we have lost almost everything. I should say at this point that our computer is still alive. It attempted to die. The paramedics got to it in time to save it's life, but it suffered partial amnesia. It can't remember everything that was on it, and it is presumed lost forever.

A little bit was backed up, though not most of the newer stuff. However, thanks to my semi smart thinking a few months back I still have all of my writing. Thank you Wattpad! For once you turned out to be useful and not a total waste of time like I think you have been.

But, while I have all my writing saved on Wattpad the formatted files for 'The Story of Silence' are lost. That means if I want to update the book I'm going to have to take it from Wattpad and re-format it. Unless of course I can somehow get it off Createspace. As for the formatted files for my latest book 'Of Lights and Shadows', I still have it but it's not the latest edit. I also don't have the original copies of either of them. Which is a very big shame, they were horribly written and a lot of what was in them was taken out in the last edit, but they were the original so they were important in a sentimental kind of way. Also all the parts which I cut from the books I could have used for other books and was planning to, so that's a shame as well. Thankfully, I'm young and so I remember what the cut scenes were about. I just have to re-write, which I hate. Though maybe if I re-write them I'll be able to get them exactly as I wanted them to be in the first place.

While I still have all my writing works, everyone else lost things of their own. We had hundreds of pictures of ourselves which are sadly gone. The only copies of some of those pictures are on other families profiles on Facebook, and on their own computers at home. This does mean that we will be able to get some of them back, but we'll still be missing heaps.

I made a few videos, those have been wiped. They were horrible so they don't matter too much. Other videos we made with friends were on the computer, and unless my sister never bothered to clear them off her camera we may have lost a few days worth of filming. I can't remember, but I'm hoping that one of our friends has copies. I think she might have.

In a few days, or the next time mum goes on the computer, we shall find out exactly how much we still have.

Sorry for the delay!

Once upon a time I said I would publish Of Lights and Shadows in June. If you've seen your calender recently you will see that it is July. If you're been waiting for the book to come out, I am very sorry to say that it is not yet ready. I took longer editing it than I thought I would because the book is almost double the length of The Story of Silence and I started editing it later than planned because I didn't finish the book until I think it was the beginning of March. I have a whole bunch of excuses for being late in publishing but I won't go through them all.

In news with how the book is going, a grammar edit is being made of it at the moment. After that is complete I will go through it again and correct any mistakes to the story and characters that I missed, then hopefully I will be able to find a couple of people to read it and let me know what they think. If they find mistakes or problems I will edit those and then it should be all ready for publication. So we are looking at either the end of this month, or the end of next month.

Writing is Easy

'Love is all you need,' said John Lennon. However, I don't think writing is the love he was speaking of at the time. But to write a novel you do need love. A love of words, a love of story telling, and, not quite connected to love, a determination to crack down and write.

Writing is easy. We do it all the time, for shopping lists, birthday lists, letters to friends, speeches. We were taught how to write at a young age. And yet, many people shiver at the thought of being asked to write a novel, or an essay. Why?

If writing is so natural, and we do it all the time, why is it that when we have to crack down and write do we find it so difficult? I tell you that it is not the writing that is difficult, it is the thinking up of what to say that we have trouble with and prevents us from making a start.

I had to write this speech first in order to deliver it. I write words all the time and yet when faced with having to write this I was stumped at what to say. To help me begin I had to find a topic. I was told it could be about anything, that didn't necessarily making it any easier though because then I was faced with what topic should I pick?

All stories start with a topic, or an idea. Once you have that then you are able to begin. But why is it still hard to start even though you have your topic? You have your topic but you don't know where to begin with writing the novel. Once thing I say for you not to do is wait for inspiration. If you decide to wait for that then you may never stop waiting. Very rarely will it show up when you want it to. Instead, you just have to start. Ignore the fact that you don't want to write, and the fact that you don't know what to say. Once you start, the words will flow.

For starters, write the title of your novel down. Next, follow with your topic and what your story is going to be about. Write what the story means to you, why you want to write it, and maybe even who you are writing it for. If you stop and look back now you will see a page full of words. But if you don't stop to look back, your mind will keep churning, your pen will keeping moving and you will soon find that you have the beginning of your novel. That wasn't really that hard now, was it?

To help you write, picking the perfect environment is high on the list of things to do. There are many different places to write a novel, you can do it in your bed, while watching the TV, or even outside in the sun. The perfect place to write is where you are comfortable, and everything you need is within reach so you don't have to keep interrupting your writing to get up and grab it. But be careful that everything isn't too close so that you end up being distracted by it. If you are distracted you will find it impossible to write.

When people find it hard to get started on a novel they often quit because they find it too hard. I have answered why they do. It's difficult, and they can't handle it. But perseverance is rewarding. The end product, whatever it may be, once polished and shined to perfection is perfection itself. You receive such a sense of achievement to hold your novel in your hand, to flip through the pages and see the many words you dripped sweat and blood to produce. It is its own reward, you don't need to receive one from someone else for your hard work.

It is enough cause to hold your finished product in your hand to force you to buckle down and write to create your masterpiece. Once you have the determination to complete the work you have started, the plot of what to write, the title, the characters, the perfect environment to write it, and the words in your mind that you are just itching to get down on paper, you will soon find that they are indeed making their way down onto the paper.

See how easy it all is? It's not the writing that's hard, that's easy, it's everything else that goes along with it.