A Little, Easy Thing…
From my Newsletter, August 2009
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Because I am now working on this myself, and because it came up in my last Microsoft Word for Writers class, I thought it worth bringing up again how helpful it is to have your files in order on your computer, and to name your different versions correctly so you can find everything in one place. This is a little like creating a binder on your computer for your work. And since I think what our work is about is bringing ideas into form, putting them into form, even in a file on our computer, is significant. Respecting our work, and giving it the right shape, all help us in creating the final masterpiece. I know I often feel like I don’t want to “waste” precious writing time on something as mundane as file naming, until I go through the process again and realize how essential it is. As I’m going through the next draft of my memoir and putting the chapters in the correct size and order in the folder, I’m getting further insights about what the focus is.
So if you don’t have it already, the simple way to do this is to create a folder on your hard disc simply called “writing.” Take every folder, file, note, idea you have about writing from wherever it is and put it in there. Then you can break it down into further segments by creating additional folders (such as “fiction,” “nonfiction,” “story ideas,” “character studies,” etc.).
When you have one folder for one book, if you name all the files the same thing at the beginning, and use a number system before you put in the particular chapter or segment name, all your files can line up in order within the folder, which I also find helpful. (This only works if you are viewing by “list” and not by “icon.”)
The naming protocol looks something like this:
Draft1Ch1beginnings.com
Draft1Ch2ourstorystarts.com
One final reminder, since I did just lose my laptop (it was stolen just outside my door), do back everything up consistently! Luckily I only completely lost notes for one new project. I learned my lesson from the time my computer crashed!