Having spent most of last week working on the second draft of The SHiM, it was a relief when I found myself nearing the end. I didn’t have a lot of time to spare while doing the rewrite, so I was grabbing the odd half hour here and there and writing on my laptop, then saving the file to my USB stick, which I take everywhere.
Actually, make that took everywhere. You see, in my hurry to pack away my laptop one day, I left the memory stick plugged in as I shoved the computer in its case.
When I next took the laptop out I was somewhat alarmed to discover half a memory stick poking out from a USB port. Upon closer inspection of the laptop bag, I found lots and lots of little bits of plastic and circuit board. My stick had well and truly come unstuck. More importantly, draft two of The SHiM was lost forever.
I’ll say that again for emphasis: FOREVER!
Anyway, disheartened but not defeated, I started working on another version of draft two at the beginning of this week. Almost at once I spotted a massive flaw in the story, which I’d completely overlooked in my original rewrite. Had I not lost that one, I may not have realised how big a problem there was with the manuscript, and so I’d never have had the chance to correct it.
Now that I’ve realised what was wrong with the story, I’ve fixed it. It meant chopping out almost 7,000 words, but already the whole thing has dramatically improved. There’s still quite a bit to change, and probably another chapter to cut out, but draft two of draft two is a much better story than draft one of draft two. If you see what I mean?
So was it fate that my sheer bumbling ineptitude destroyed my USB stick? Was it good luck? Bad luck? Or merely random chance?
Who knows? But if nothing else it’ll make for an interesting anecdote when I make it onto Richard and Judy!
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Written by Barry
Topics: Books