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Friday, October 9, 2015

A (Bad) Day In The Life...

I thought I'd post this again--it happened to me a couple of years ago, but I still get chills thinking about it. This post is a page from a writer's life, although it could just as easily be written by a person in any occupation.

What do writers do? We write. As necessary as the stethoscope to a physician is the computer to a writer. Sure, there are those who write with a yellow legal pad and a pencil, but most of us have abandoned those for the computer.

Not only that, we've become a connected society, bound together by blogs, emails, text messages, and all things electronic. And, although a great deal of this can be done via a smart phone, a computer with an Internet connection is what we really crave. And for a writer, presence in social media is critical. It's what's called "platform."

That's why it was so frustrating to me yesterday when my computer was hors de combat for a while. I won't go into details (primarily because some of it was my own fault, and it's embarrassing to talk about it). Because I had been interviewed and done guest blogs on a number of sites, I needed to check back with those folks, yet my lifeline to the world was tied in a knot. I had to access the sites because people might have left comments for me to which I needed to respond.

Anyone who has found themselves in this position will understand when I say that I awoke at one AM, rolled out of bed, and spent the next hour getting the computer functional once more. I slept less than usual that night, but the hours after I got back to bed were restful.

Of course, I got no writing done. I did very little marketing. About all I managed to do was repair the damage to my primary instrument--the computer. That was my day. And, unfortunately, I suspect there'll be more coming at some point. Just have to wait for that other shoe to drop.

Ever been in such a situation? How did you handle it? C'mon, confession is good for the soul.


Click with a single tweet. "What does a writer do when his/her computer goes down?" Click here to tweet.

Dr. Richard Mabry, a suspense "mister" among the sisters, writes "medical suspense with heart." His latest book, Miracle Drug, released in September.

6 comments:

  1. As luck would have it, something similar happened to me yesterday. After spending two weeks with my nephew in a hospital, I'd planned on getting back into writing on a book due January 4. But, noooooo. Wordpress had to go wonky, and wouldn't allow me to approve hallf my comments. It's been wonky ever since the last update, but this time it messed everything up. And since I was hosting another author, it was important to get the comments to working.

    But I never did. I spent all day trying to get it straightened out. I have someone working on it today. Grrrrr.

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  2. Patricia, I feel your pain. You can spend a whole day and more getting stuff like that straightened out. Doesn't contribute to a writer's peace of mind, does it? Thanks for checking out Suspense Sisters and commenting.

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  3. Computers! Yes, I review & I hate it when I hit a key and everything disappears!
    Just started Miracle Drug.. Headed back to it! good stuff Dr...

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  4. Technology can be such a blessing/curse! My laptop's motherboard crashed at five months. I still continue to have issues with it.

    I'm looking forward to reading MIRACLE DRUG!

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    1. Caryl, one of my favorite expressions, always said with tongue firmly in cheek, is "Ain't technology wonderful?" Hope you enjoy Miracle Drug. Thanks for your comment.

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