I had thought about talking about NaNoWriMo this week or the Emerald City Writer's Conference (which I'll be attending with Colleen this coming weekend), but instead I'm going to talk about something else (those other topics will be addressed in coming weeks).
I'm sure I don't have to tell my fellow blogmates here to save their work. It's something we all do. But do you keep back-ups? If tomorrow your computer were struck by lightning (what? it could happen) or stolen by nefarious individuals at the local coffee shop, do you have back-ups of your WIPs?
I'm terrified of losing my WIPs, as well as notes I've made on future ideas. When I'm working on a project, I save the file in multiple places - my netbook, a USB drive, my external portable harddrive, and I email a copy of the latest version to myself each time I update it. This way I never lose the most recent version.
Am I a little paranoid? Maybe. But I currently live in an area which as been told that there is a strong likelihood that we'll be flooded out this winter (we're in particular danger because I live just a stones throw from the river in question). I'm already thinking ahead to what do I move to the second floor and what do I take with us, when and/or if we get the evacuation notice.
Books, I can replace. Same with dvds and cds. But the ideas collected on my computer, those I can't replace.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
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4 comments:
Oh man, I so hope you don't have flooding. Good on you for thinking ahead, however.
Here's where I make an awful confession: I do not have any back-ups of my work. Not a one. Not even on email. I KNOW. I've been meaning to get an external drive for a long time but have kept putting it off. Until that happens, I think I'll start emailing what I've got to myself just to be on the safe side.
I set up a Gmail account just for this reason. I can access it from anywhere and I always have my most recent drafts.
This is always a good and timely reminder. I need to get back on a regular backup schedule. Because yes, right now, most of my current WIPs are on the netbook ... the dreadfully cute, highly portable, very-attractive-to-thieves netbook. And it's not like I don't have a network at home with external hard drives to which I could back everything up...
You sound like me. I have learned to do the same thing, because I have lost valuable information due to hard drive crashes. I don't think there's any such thing as backing up your stuff too much!
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