Be Afraid

My name is Helen Ginger and I’m addicted to my computer. I had never thought of myself this way until a month ago when my computer crashed, black-screened, nada, nothing, dead as a doornail. My worst fear. If you’ve ever experienced that, it probably became your nightmare as well.

Fast forward a month and I’m still without my computer. I’m waiting. Patiently. Okay, not so patiently. My iPhone is not suited to checking and writing email. I can get some things done on my iPad and, when my husband’s out of town, I can use his computer. There are things even his computer can’t do. Only my computer has Dreamweaver on it, the software I use to update my site weekly. Or…used to update weekly.

Not only am I an editor, I’m a writer. Part of that “worst fear” of losing my computer is that the tech guy may not be able to retrieve all my data, including the manuscript I was working on. The good news is that I immediately emailed my friend and fellow editor to see if she still had the copy I had sent her to edit. (Yes, editors have editors.) She did and promised to save it. Having to rewrite from that point is better than trying to rewrite from the document as it stood back in early Spring – the last time I’d backed up.

There lies my real problem. I’m good at backing up after a computer crash – for about six months, then I slack off. I forget. Not anymore. After this crash, I will sign on with an automated online backup. I can reload Dreamweaver and Word and PhotoShop and all the other software. I can’t reload months or years of not-backed-up data.

So, I’m here today to tell you, with Halloween only a couple of weeks away, be afraid. Most importantly, though, be aware. Backup. Or, like me, get a service to backup for you.

If you don’t, you’re likely to hear what I hear – the dying screams of data and manuscripts adrift in the endless blackness of cyberspace.

The late Helen Ginger (1952-2021) was an author, blogger, and the Coordinator of Story Circle Network's Editorial Services and writing coach. She was also a former mermaid. She taught public speaking as well as writing and marketing workshops. Helen was the author of Angel Sometimes, Dismembering the Past, and three books in TSTC Publishing’s TechCareers series.