Lessons learned

I was moving from Florida to the Boston area in 1990. I had just completed a novel which was a hybrid of suspense thriller/police procedural/experimental fiction based on part on the Gainesville Ripper. In those days, I didn’t have any of the latest technology. Everything was hand-written on legal pads. (Thirty years ago I didn’t have to worry about Carpal Tunnel or arthritis.) I had no idea how I was going to edit it or who to pitch it to. But it was very special in my progression as a writer.

With a minimal amount of personal possessions, I took a journey by bus with one suitcase and a briefcase that had been a present from my sister. My most recent writings, including that novel, were in the briefcase. I stopped in NYC for an overnight visit with a college friend. We tossed my meager possessions in the trunk and went out for dinner and drinks. After dinner, we drove to his house on Long Island. When we got there, we popped the trunk…only to realize that someone else had previously popped the trunk. I had one carry bag with some clothes and toiletries; other items had been pre-shipped to the family I was going to stay with temporarily.

At the time, the most devastating loss was the manuscript. There was absolutely nothing that could be done in terms of the law (i.e. the crime took place in one location before realizing it in another location); I didn’t have insurance; I was in a transitional period in my life and the only thing of any value was my writing.

Naturally I was devastated. In those technology-less days, there was no back up process (other than spending money which I didn’t have to make copies). Shortly after settling in to my new digs, I bought a word processor and rewrote the novel. I don’t know if it was better or worse than the original. There’s no way of knowing. What I am sure of is that the piece was important enough to me to write again.

Flash forward to the modern day. I have thumb drives, an external drive, a network drive. I am familiar with the concept of redundancy, backing up, saving work, both after I’m done and as I go along. Why I didn’t do that for a recent project I’ll never know. Approximately six hours of work lost when a thumb drive became corrupted. There were gritting sounds, language primarily used in crime novels, the possibility of tears. However, when the reality of it sets in, there’s nothing left except rolling up your sleeves and getting to work.

I could drone on to myself, get philosophical about the loss of time and how precious it is. The project is still gone. I could become frustrated that there are other things I need to be working on. The project is still gone. I could blow everything off, get stinking drunk (on a Sunday night no less). The project is still gone.

After letting you all know about this, I’m rolling up my sleeves and getting back to work. Better or worse? I say better because it has to be.