Backing up is something that most people know they should do, but for one reason or another don't do it. Some find the process too complicated, see it as unnecessary (how likely is the computer to crash anyway, right?) or can't justify the expense of a hard drive.
This morning i sat down at the laptop to start my day's work and was instead confronted with a blue screen that said Windows had to shut down to prevent serious damage. When it rebooted it refused to log me onto my profile, taking me to a temporary user profile instead. The upshot of this is that i haven't been able to access my documents, files, email client or bookmarks all day.
Fortunately I have a spare PC that a month or so ago i sat down with to 'mirror' the other one, using a Firefox sync add-on my tabs, bookmarks etc are synced across computers and my phone, my email client is setup with IMAP so all folders and mail are downloaded into the folders i created on the other machine, and both have Dropbox. I also do a nonstop backup using Acronis, which backs up any changed file in real-time.
Despite these precautions my day has been seriously altered because i've had to work on fixing my main computer. Nonetheless, in between running one check after another, I have been able to be on the PC and use Dropbox to access all my work files, allowing me to do my work without worrying about it only being on the one computer that's kicking up a fuss after only 7 months.
The lesson here is take precautions - it is far cheaper and quicker to be prepared than to wait for the inevitable and then buy a new computer. Just yesterday i purchased a 1TB hard drive for just £50 from Amazon, and the portable 500GB one i have permanently connected will now be cheaper than that. So that's 1,500GB of backup space for less than £100. It takes moments to create an automatic backup setting, and Dropbox (or Microsoft's Skydrive if you prefer) is free with 2GB space, syncing to their website and any computer or device you install the program. This allows you immediate access to any folder you tell it to sync, regardless of what machine you are on.
Don't put it off any longer - you never know when the fateful day will come, take less than an hour out of your day to create that failsafe and rest easy in the knowledge that when the computer dies, your work will live on.
Grammar tips, literary discussions and freelance writing advice
Showing posts with label writers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writers. Show all posts
9 August 2011
4 October 2010
Making the Foray Into Writing
Guest Post from Lauren Holden
If you want to be a writer, perhaps the first thing you should ask yourself is ‘why’? If you’re doing it for the money, you’ll no doubt be severely disappointed, especially in the first instance. Wannabe writers usually have to start at the bottom; writing for fanzines for free or contributing to their student newspaper. And everyone knows there's little, or no money in either. If you’re doing it for the opportunity of a published byline - great, but be prepared to start small. Writers who are just starting out are usually chuffed to bits to see their name next to an article on even the most obscure website.
Expecting to get a byline in a top national magazine on your very first writing assignment is usually out of the question.
Want to write because you have a genuine passion for being creative with words? Good stuff! Get yourself a contacts book and jot down the names and email addresses of people you meet along the way. Networking can be key to your first foray into writing; it’s not what you know but who you know, as they say.
Should you come to pitch your article to a magazine or newspaper, be prepared for some knock-backs. Don’t be disheartened if your feature idea is rejected; just because one editor doesn’t like your idea, it doesn’t mean everyone else will. Get hold of the 2010 Writers’
Handbook for relevant contact details for hundreds of magazines, newspapers and websites up and down the country. You’ll know exactly who to pitch your idea to, as well as picking up tips about what certain magazines are looking for in terms of content.
Keep an eye on what’s topical in the news and always remember to ‘write what you know’. Writers who tackle a subject they know little about will often struggle. It’s far easier to select a subject you can relate to and you’re interested to write about. There’s little fun in researching and writing about ‘injection moulding companies’ if you’re not a fan of the subject itself.
Finally, get yourself on Twitter and ‘follow’ fellow writers, interesting celebs and anyone you think may be worth a story. Good luck!
If you want to be a writer, perhaps the first thing you should ask yourself is ‘why’? If you’re doing it for the money, you’ll no doubt be severely disappointed, especially in the first instance. Wannabe writers usually have to start at the bottom; writing for fanzines for free or contributing to their student newspaper. And everyone knows there's little, or no money in either. If you’re doing it for the opportunity of a published byline - great, but be prepared to start small. Writers who are just starting out are usually chuffed to bits to see their name next to an article on even the most obscure website.
Expecting to get a byline in a top national magazine on your very first writing assignment is usually out of the question.
Want to write because you have a genuine passion for being creative with words? Good stuff! Get yourself a contacts book and jot down the names and email addresses of people you meet along the way. Networking can be key to your first foray into writing; it’s not what you know but who you know, as they say.
Should you come to pitch your article to a magazine or newspaper, be prepared for some knock-backs. Don’t be disheartened if your feature idea is rejected; just because one editor doesn’t like your idea, it doesn’t mean everyone else will. Get hold of the 2010 Writers’
Handbook for relevant contact details for hundreds of magazines, newspapers and websites up and down the country. You’ll know exactly who to pitch your idea to, as well as picking up tips about what certain magazines are looking for in terms of content.
Keep an eye on what’s topical in the news and always remember to ‘write what you know’. Writers who tackle a subject they know little about will often struggle. It’s far easier to select a subject you can relate to and you’re interested to write about. There’s little fun in researching and writing about ‘injection moulding companies’ if you’re not a fan of the subject itself.
Finally, get yourself on Twitter and ‘follow’ fellow writers, interesting celebs and anyone you think may be worth a story. Good luck!
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