Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Holy Crap I Forgot It's IWSG

I wish I was kidding, but sadly, I'm not. The first of the month always catches me for some reason, because my brain seems to believe that the first Wednesday for the month must be the third or later. *facepalm*

No idea what I'm talking about?

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is a monthly bloghop taking place on the first Wednesday of every month. About two hundred writers are part of the IWSG, sharing our doubt, fears, insecurities and encouragement to let everyone else know that actually, they're not all that alone after all.

You're more than welcome to join, if you'd like. Click here for more information or to sign up.


So. 

Because I already eloquently explained myself last week by vlog, I'm going to re-post here. I did try to keep a brave face on everything, but by the end of the first third or so, I'm basically going into where I really am in my life at the moment. 

Spoiler alert, it's not pretty. (Also, this isn't family rated. Just so you know. And yes, the f-bombs I dropped actually did make me feel better. My mom always asks me that. No idea why.)



Since I'm just going to let that do the talking for me instead of writing again (because I've *just* managed to not burst into tears at the thought and writing about it again would open the scab, so to speak), I figured I'd answer this month's question for those of you who'd rather not see/hear me.

Have you ever pulled out a really old story and reworked it? Did it work out?

Yes, I have. A long long time ago, I finished a rewrite to a book shortly after I finished rewriting Doorways. For those of you who weren't visiting my blog at that time, The Vanished Knight + The Heir's Choice = Doorways. 

It wrote like a dream. I backed up. 

I was backing up the file for the last time when something (and don't ask me what) went wrong. The entire file disappeared, replaced with an empty one of the same name. 

I was heartbroken. So much so that I decided to just shelf the whole project until I could look at it without mourning the project I'd had. 

It took about five years before I decided to look at that thing again, and by then, I'd grown so much as a writer that I ended up redrafting the whole thing from scratch, keeping only the characters and about half of the concept. 

Any you know what? I love it even more than I loved it before. I've started editing it and working on it with critique partners and they've enjoyed it too. 

But... it's still a to be continued when it comes to knowing if it worked out. It's not shelved per se, but because of my lack of time and the abundance of crap in my life as is mentioned in the vlog above, I just haven't been able to get to it when I'm supposed to be finishing the sequel to The Heir's Choice. But one day... Hopefully in this year... 

What about you? Did you ever rework an old story? Any good news to share? Really in need of some good news. 

One update I should mention: the business plan is in with the possible investor, so prayers would be appreciated. 

19 comments:

  1. Thanks to February, IWSG falls on the first day again. Surprise!
    Sucks you lost everything but I bet you're glad now you rewrote everything.

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  2. I feel so bad for you Misha, that you lost everything, how did that happen? Don't you back up your files? You can always send the attachments to yourself as an email every time you makes changes in a manuscript.

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  3. One day at a time. Sending cheese and prayers your way. I know it doesn't help, but difficult times are to build strength, and whether you can see it or not, you've grown so much through these awful experiences. You don't know how much your journey is inspiring others. Fight on.

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  4. Just reading about you losing your file is heartbreaking to me. I've had a similar thing happen before.

    As for reworking a story. I'm still in the process of reworking one I wrote when I was 17 (I'll be 31 in just under two months)! Each time it grows a little more though it's now become a sort of historical fiction because we're a good decade plus away from when the events are set. Some day I will finish it.

    Fingers crossed for your writing and business plan. :-)

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  5. Thinking good thoughts on the business plan.

    Losing the whole file. Shudder. Now I know why I'm paranoid and back things up all over the place.

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  6. I think the end of February always throws people off because every other month gives you another couple days. I almost forgot to write a post for today, too!
    Reading about losing that file makes me want to back up everything I've ever written in ten different ways.

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  7. Those first Wednesdays on the first day of the month can really sneak up on people, especially after a short month like February. It's so hard to lose a file, but sometimes what we re-create is even better. *hugs*

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  8. Oh wow, I can imagine how that feels because it has happened to me a few times, unfortunately. It sucks when you type something and then "poof" the file is gone. So frustrating!

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  9. Wowzer! That's rotten about losing your stuff. I had that happen and afterward signed up for Carbonite. It backs up all my files everyday and I feel much better knowing I have that.

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  10. Gosh, it is horrible when you lose a file. So sorry. Hopefully, it'll never happen aging.

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  11. Prayers and more prayers for the business plan and for you.

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  12. I did get it right this time, but I'll admit to not always realising when we've moved on from one month to the next.

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  13. That's the worst when you lose a file. How awful! That's one of my worst fears. I should be better about backing things up.

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  14. I almost totally forgot IWSG, too!

    I just sent up a big prayer for you and your business plan. Something great has to be just around the corner for you. May each day find you closer and closer to it.

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  15. I hope your complications get sorted out. Sometimes, the bad things turn out to be in our favor- just like your lost manuscript. It worked out for the better later. Hang on there, good things are coming!

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  16. I realize it's been 5 years, but if you were using Word at the time, it's highly possible the file was saved somewhere else on your hard drive. I feel like Word, back when I used it a million years ago, would do that to me occasionally. I never freaked out and always found it, but I have an engineer as a husband (was boyfriend then), so that helped.

    It sounds like everything worked out for the best in the end, though, regarding your story. And I bet you are even more meticulous now than ever about making sure you have a backup copy of any files you are working on. :)

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  17. Love the vlog approach, and it's clever with the add-ons.

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  18. Cool vid:) Looks like you've got this vlogging thing down pat:)

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  19. I hate losing work, but I also feel like sometimes we get a better version when we rewrite. I rewrite stuff all the time.

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