Let's call it a draft.

So when I'm done writing this, I'm shutting down the computer, yanking the hard drive out, and getting everything ready to be shipped back to Dell. Anyone who has been reading my blog, or has known me for any length of time, knows I'm pretty protective of my machine, mostly because, hey, it's what I do a lot of my writing on, and sometimes, it's my big connection to the part of the world that doesn't run adjacent to Elk River.

And yes, I know how sad that sounds.

Upswing, I did manage to finish something I've been working on. "VHS Generation" now has a first [well, sort of second... ish] draft, which is good because I've come to depend on Final Draft a lot to put my disjointed notes together, and I won't have access to it with the computer in the shop. Even though I had been taking a little time to scribble some stuff down on paper, or in Dark Room [thanking Jami for that link], I was actually worried I was in a bit of dry spell, but I guess it was just a matter of putting all the pieces together. I don't think I realized how personal the end result was going to be, and I actually feel a little raw over it right now. Probably would have taken more time, but having such a thorough outline of the story made all the difference.

Write outlines, kids. It's the only thing about writing I know for sure.

Anyway, I shot it off to Ander to have a look. It'll probably need another draft, and I have a few more ideas too, though right now I'm just going to take some time, get some distance, and start thinking about how to fix the peep show script. Got some really great feedback on it recently, made me want to jump back into it. Plus, there's a new book to review, and a side project for a friend. Plenty to do.

Time being, I'll have access to a computer and the internet, so I can still be reached and will still be doing work, even though it'll be limited. How much of my regular schedule I'll keep up I don't know, which is a shame as I'm way behind on my reading anyway. But I guess it's not going anywhere.

For now, signing off.

3 comments :: Let's call it a draft.

  1. You're probably already aware, but if you're ever looking for a fast and easy way to backup your documents, you can paste them into google documents. I started doing that after my first laptop crashed, just so I wouldn't lose any progress on my ever so slow-moving novel. Then Ian sent me a draft of his novel/novella to proof read once and not long after I finished, HIS computer crashed. If not for me plopping it into googledocs, it'd be gone forever.

  2. wow... kudos on the link to the more you know! Cleverest thing I've seen all month!

  3. @CheriAnn - Google docs just doesn't work so hot for me as storage. The bulk of my really important writings is in Final Draft, and they don't play so nice. Luckily, I have a lot of removable storage, though I'm getting kind of *desperate* to get one super-back-up drive for everything. They're just so damn expensive.

    @Andrew - Been sitting on that for months. This felt like the time.