Story #8 and Backing Up Work…

Back It Up!!!

I learned this the very hard way back in 1985. I came back from the Portland airport to my house in Lincoln City to find it all boarded up and my mint collection of Astounding pulps hosed down on the front yard. Seems the fire started in the electrical box in my office.

I lost all my stories that were not in the mail at the time, meaning about 100 short stories. I lost my first two written novels as well that were beside my typewriter that had melted into a puddle. I lost it all. Years of writing.

It took me years to get back to writing after that, but I did. Now I back up everything and not just to a cloud, which is actually just someone else’s computers.

I have everything I have ever written since I got a computer on two different computers and three back-up drives and I have everything I have ever written on thumb drives in my pocket that go with me everywhere.

And I have published most everything as well. You lose it all and if you do come back, you become phobic on backing things up. I did.

So now I see this horrid disaster going on in Southern California and my first thought is for my friends who live there. Their lives and their families. My second wife and I at the time of my fire were safe because we were not home, but we did lose a cat.  So far most I know in Southern California have gotten out all right They are safe, but this is a long ways from being over.

So writers all over the world, we are in global warming and you are seeing it in action as has been predicted. If something like this happens to you, the key is getting your family and yourself out safely.

But once you are safe, you want to know that your writing is not something you lost. You will lose enough, trust me, and you will never be the same. But at least save your writing ahead of time. It is one thing you can do for yourself and your family.

KICKSTARTER IS STILL DOING GREAT…

Almost to the second stretch goal that has a period of submission for backers to Pulphouse. Check it out.

Plus this has five books of reading of my short stories and Kris’s short stories. 50 stories from me, 50 from Kris. Great fun.

And don’t forget there are a couple of really great special workshops about aspects of writing series.

SERIES COLLIDE MAKE 100 KICKSTARTER PROJECT…

And by the way, PUBLISHING MONDAY and BITE-SIZED BRANDING AND TRADEMARK both just started.

I offered a special deal of get both, all 52 weeks of both, for $1,000. (The cost for both is $3,000 normally.) If you still want to jump into  these two fantastic classes, write me for the deal. I will keep the deal open for a little longer because I think these two classes are going to be important over 2025.

SYORY CHALLENGE

Got the story done today. Story #8. Still not back to sane on the writing time, but I sure like the story, which means nothing at all, Just fun to write.

Day started at the crack of 1 pm by the time I got to  this business computer and spent almost two hours doing business stuff, then a quick lunch and a meeting with Steph on my challenge books that I will be doing, then the webinar for the Writer’s Block class that is starting up again for the second session on www.wmgwriterstore.com

You would need to sign up for both and run through the first weeks before really getting a sense of the second nine weeks. And we record all the webinars.

Done on that by 5, so headed over to a furniture store for something for the office since the Space Opera workshop starts there on Monday. (Also starts on the Study Along on Teachable.)

Then back by 6:30 and Kris and I headed out to the storage locker to put back the Christmas tree and all the holiday decorations, then dinner and back home by 10 pm.

I took a nap and then watched some television with Kris until midnight, then back on my email.

2 am I started the story. I was awake and feeling good, so found a title on my title sheet. “Compulsions” was one half of the title, but I kept trying to ram it into another half and nothing for my creative voice work, so typed that title on the page and started writing and it was clearly once again a Marble Grant story. She has a very distinctive voice and attitude.

So with one short break, I finished the 2,250 word story by a little before 4 am and had a blast writing it.

And today Steph, who is doing the covers for my new collections, showed me what she is thinking and they are fantastic!!  Forward we go.

Tomorrow I will work to start the story earlier in the day. But I felt no pressure tonight at all, so clearly things are starting to settle in some and my creative voice is happy to be back playing.