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Storing files/chapters for a novel/research - advice needed
Hi,
I haven't posted on here for a long time but I am hoping for some advice. I am sorry if that seems a bit cheeky but I have only had limited energy so certain forums have been neglected although I have still kept up with a few of your through facebook. Having been quite unwell plus having family issues to deal with my writing has been sporadic. I have several projects that I really want to finish but I have it all in such a muddle that I need a better way of storing it all.
I am even at the stage of thinking of stripping everything out of the computer onto hard-drives etc and then starting a storage system from scratch.
I am wondering how everybody else does this please?
Do you have a separate document for each chapter?
How do you store your research?
I seem to have so many versions of everything (kindle versions and what I have uploaded to createspace). Do you keep all your previous drafts?
Where do you now find it best to back-up? - Email to yourself? External hard-drive or pen drives? I have not looked yet at options such as the cloud etc but I suspect that this may be something that more people are using now.
I would appreciate any practical advice to help me get myself organised so I can finish these projects.
Many thanks
Gina
Comments
i only have a separate doc for each chapter while i work on it.
i makd daily copies to pen drives, updating yesterday's work, then occasional copy of everything to large capacity pen drive.
have not investigated the vloud yet due to being old and suspicious of new technology!
Some of my research notes stay on the memory stick but I print out those I type up. Related images are pinned to a cork board beside my desk until the draft is completed, then they're taken down and stored with the draft and notes, until I next need them.
All paper copies, images, jottings, go in a labelled lidded A4 size box.
I was automatically given Cloud account when I bought my latest laptop - however I didn't use it when I realised that the account incurred an annual fee... what if I failed to pay up - would I lose everything stored in the Cloud? Absolutely against being held to ransom in perpetuity over my own work!
I back up to two different hard drives and keep them in different places.
For new projects it will be much easier to have an idea of how I am working/storing my WIP. Unfortunately I have all these copies saved and no idea which version is which, copies that are duplicated as I have copied/backed up when I have changed computer (plus I was working on several different computer/laptops) and I have mad a big mess of it.
It is frustrating as I want to restart, or rather finally finish, the first draft and instead of writing I am looking in horror at all these files. I did consider printing them all off but as the files have anywhere between 5k and 30k in each one that didn't seem to be an easy option.
Hopefully this will be a lesson to me and everyone else to be organised from the start.
Thanks for the advice.
Instead of organising everything that has gone before, just sort how you want it to be going forward. If you need to find something from 'before' it'll get put in the right box, folder, drive.
Finish the draft
Scrivener treats each book (or story, or essay, or whatever) as a 'project'. When you open a project you immediately have access to everything - all the chapters you've written, all your research notes, web links, images, whatever you want, really. But you only work on a section at a time, and a section is as big or small as you want it to be. I have it so my chapters are broken down into scenes, and I write and edit those individually.
Where it becomes really useful is that because the whole project is there, it's very easy to check back (or forward) in the book to make sure your descriptions are consistent, or whether events you've described happen in the right order. All of this without having to open other documents. Plus everything gets saved at once, and you can set it up to automatically save a back-up copy to a different location (I have mine saved to Dropbox)
As with anything, Scrivener's not a solve-all solution for everyone, and a lot of people shy away from changing the way they work because of the time it takes to get up to speed on something new. But it works well for a significant number of people, and if you were thinking of starting from scratch, Ginab, it might be worth looking into. (You can import the writing you've already done into a new project, so you wouldn't actually be starting from a blank page).
I keep forgetting Scrivener exists, and whenever I remember I can't afford the bugger so it gives me time to forget again...so keep reminding!!
When it comes to editing, though, it's a different story. It's great to be able to substitute whole chunks of text, or move them around (useful for non-linear structures, flashbacks, etc). Plus it's useful to use the 'corkboard' function as a way of getting a quick overview of your whole book (also a handy way of helping to structure your synopsis).
Anyway, I'm not on commission, just somebody who's got a lot out of the software even though I probably only use half of the features it offers (probably less than that, actually).
So.... I'm debating moving over to Word and One Note (mainly because I really don't want to pay out for a second Scrivener).
It's worth considering the potential additional cost if you are likely to change from Mac to Windows etc. One license is good for use on more than one computer but only if they both use the same OS.
Other than that, if I am honest with myself - Scrivener is bloody brilliant and I may still pay for a second version...
The advice (can't remember who said it) about just getting on and finishing the draft is an accurate one. I think I have been focusing on the facts that I know parts of the story have changed and it needs to be rewritten. I keep losing sight of the point that this is the first draft only and it will have to be rewritten anyway.
I am also guilty of spending large portions of time where I am not very active on this forum but will try to contribute more. Thanks again.