Data Recovery Update

Thanks, all, for the very sweet comments, emails, phone calls, sympathy, mentally-sent milkshakes, listening ears, help, etc. They mean a lot to me.

Monday was a REALLY rough day. I seriously cried a lot. My head hurt for a day and a half from all the crying (and freaking out).

So, 10,000 words were gone/messed up in that overwrite. After 14 hours of data recovery attempts, we eventually got most of it (thankfully) but were still missing about 2,000 words that also happened to be my favorite part where the story really felt like it was taking on the tone I'd envisioned. It was so good that I laughed out loud as I wrote it. And, though I'd shared nothing before that, I read it to Mark on Sunday night because I was so proud.

I was so upset when it went missing. And I was very much on the verge of giving up. After all that recovery, I was still missing words and was much farther behind on my word count, too. Days that were going to be spent writing were spent trying to find words and crying (and freaking out). I really didn't want to give up. And I got such sweet notes from the kids and from Mark encouraging me to keep going. I couldn't let them down nor could I let myself down. I really, REALLY want to do this!

So, Tuesday, I spent most of the day trying to recreate that part (I hate recreating--it never seems as good as something that just came so naturally). My word count actually went down and stagnated for a bit while I worked on fixing the mess. I kept telling myself "it's just a story," but somewhere over the weekend, it took on a life of its own, so I was also trying really hard to not give up. Plus my husband and kids are really rooting for me and that encourages me. They're so good to me.

So the recreated part is a bit different and I'm trying to move forward and not obsess over that or the 250 or so words that I'm still short. I can't figure out what those are. What am I missing?!? I tend to obsess and I'm trying really, really hard not to do that. I'm just now passing the word count I had Sunday night. I am really behind (and so is Mark) but am focusing on the fact that we recovered most of it and recreated the rest and we haven't given up and we are writing more. I want to feel that book excitement again and I feel like I got a glimpse yesterday evening at the coffeehouse with Cristin. I'm going with it.

I better get published.