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Thu 11 Oct, 2007 03:33 pm
I've just completed the first draft of my novel. Took me a year and a half almost to get it on paper. Giving it time to cool before starting the editing process, I decided to look at another story I'd started about three years ago and, wanting to format it the same as the one I just completed, I copied and pasted it over the finished novel but instead of renaming it and creating a new file, out of habit I simply saved it, overwriting the finished piece. Making several changes, I didn't realize it until I finally renamed it and saved it again about fifteen minutes later.
I DAMN NEAR DIED.
The only way I was able to retrieve the finished novel was to patiently UNDO every letter and word change, going back about 40-50-steps, but by the grace of God, and having unlimited undos, I was able to get back to the original finished novel, before the paste.
Have you ever overwritten a crucial file?
Were you able to somehow retrieve it?
If not, how did you survive it?
Re: ERASING HALF YOUR LIFE
eoe wrote:I've just completed the first draft of my novel. Took me a year and a half almost to get it on paper. Giving it time to cool before starting the editing process, I decided to look at another story I'd started about three years ago and, wanting to format it the same as the one I just completed, I copied and pasted it over the finished novel but instead of renaming it and creating a new file, out of habit I simply saved it, overwriting the finished piece. Making several changes, I didn't realize it until I finally renamed it and saved it again about fifteen minutes later.
I DAMN NEAR DIED.
The only way I was able to retrieve the finished novel was to patiently UNDO every letter and word change, going back about 40-50-steps, but by the grace of God, and having unlimited undos, I was able to get back to the original finished novel, before the paste.
Have you ever overwritten a crucial file?
Were you able to somehow retrieve it?
If not, how did you survive it?
Phew.
I am still too overwhelmed by that story even to THINK about any of my files.
I had to pick myself up off of the floor.
Yoikes! I've over-written a few spreadsheets over the years but nothing nearly as long/complex as an entire book. I've over-written my genealogy database a few times and that would not be replaceable so it gets backed-up several times a month to various locations.
Holy crap! My heart was racing for you.
There's a benefit in saving things as new files, like Update 15 or such... I always save things with a new version.
Yes, no big deal but I've done that with my resume.
Worse, I've done it at work - nothing as bad as your life history, but certainly 15 - 20 pages of beautiful prose written by moi - it's enough to make you want to jump off a bridge
Ain't it the truth? I was in shock! I couldn't imagine getting over it. My husband heard me screaming three levels below.
I think that experience aged me. I've lost a few months, at least.
I wrote a lengthy script for a graphic novel, then sent the ms. to my brother to finish developing it. I should have kept a copy, but didn't. His computer crashed, mortally, taking the entire work with it. We never recovered any of that project.
OMG!
That's why anytime you have something important to say that you don't want to ever lose...
You should post it to the "Test" area of A2K. No one would ever notice it there. :wink:
eoe wrote:Ain't it the truth? I was in shock! I couldn't imagine getting over it. My husband heard me screaming three levels below.
I think that experience aged me. I've lost a few months, at least.
Well, less to write about now, eh?
That's funny Mame but I think you misunderstood. The novel wasn't about my life or anything like that. The title of the thread refers to the novel taking up half of my time and focus for over a year. I spent the other half doing everything else.
I saved a copy tonight on an external harddrive also.
Edgar, how long ago did this happen? That is, if you care to elaborate. If you don't, I understand.
This happened a year or two back. Heck, I don't remember that well. It was action-packed super hero sci/fi.
Oh thank God eoe...like mame said, my pulse rate went up as I read your tale.
However, that's proof you can sure write.
phew.
Ah yes, the feeling that your heart has flown out of your chest and all the oxygen has been sucked from the room. I was working on a complicated art project using a previous project as a template. Not really concentrating, I thought I already did a "save as" with a new name so I just hit "save". At the moment I lifted my finger from the mouse I realized I had not made a new name and was working with the original. I started to cry until I remembered my much more responsible husband had backed up all our files the night before, and thus a copy of the original could be retrieved. It does make one much more careful in the future.
You were so lucky, GW!!
The worst, though, for heart attacks, is when you're:
a) saving a draft email of some sensitivity and want to reword it more but hit SEND instead of SAVE AS DRAFT; and...
b) when you add your BCCs to the TO line -- ooops.
As a graphic designer, I've accidentally overwritten files before and after alot of yelling and screaming and disbelief at my carelessness, I've been forced to sit down and recreate, maybe, several days of work. But this, 466 pages down the tubes, was truly one of the most heart-stopping, panic-filled moments of my life.
Oooweee! I never ever want to go through anything like that again.
Mame, I've never done that but the fear has always been there and just the thought of it can make your hair stand on end.
yeah well, I've done it
And I'm still here to tell about it, heh heh
Whenever I'm going to start trying new stuff on a file, using a existing one as a starting point, I first "save as" the current file as "Workingcopy"
That's the one I can mess up all I want.
Then, if I get whatever I want from it, and have another iffy idea, I'll save Workingcopy as Workingcopy deux.
The way I can retrace my steps.
I do that a lot when I'm tinkering with macros.
Even if you had closed the document it probably still would have been on your hard drive somewhere and could have been recovered if you did the right things.
Word saves a temporary copy of the file on your hard drive. This temporary file stays there until your system decides to overwrite it with something else. If you stopped using your computer and used one of the many file recovery programs you probably would have found several places where you novel has been saved at various times.
As awful as the idea is, I have made a resolve to print out a paper copy of revisions before I aim for the save function, miss and lose my work.
I too, am doing some creative writing and accidently erased a page or two and was reduced to tears until I remembered I had paper to back me up.
May not seem time efficient, but saves a lot of grief.
High tech does have its downside.
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