Computer Trouble

Just when activity in my new critique group was picking up and I was beginning to navigate the technical issues better, my laptop decided to insert itself into the mix. It has been having issues, and I knew it needed to be looked at, but we had been holding out due to other things we needed to take care of first Thankfully, I had been able to save all the important stuff--pretty much everything LOL--and I was working off of flash drives...until the laptop suddenly bumped itself to the top of the priority list (maybe it had delusions of grandeur LOL). When it stopped being able to save anything to a flash drive, I was in trouble. 

So, off to see Geek Squad we went, but at that point, the discussion was about transferring everything from the dying laptop to a new laptop, not about saving the old one. After less than a day of anxious waiting, Geek Squad called and everything was taken care of.

Since then, I've been testing things out, and all seems to be a-okay. YAY! 

Suzanne Hartman

Author of the Fast Track Thriller series:

I'm on a Roll!

Once I finished revising Chapters 1 and 2--for the umpteenth time--I was on a roll, so I kept on rolling into Chapters 3 and 4. These chapters needed some revision because my former critique partners liked a minor character so much that they kept asking me when I was going to bring her back. I obliged and came up with a fantastic way to use this character in the finale of the book, but it took brainstorming with a couple of people much later to finally realize that there was an easy and obvious (with hindsight) way to line up the old and new versions. 

Due to the way pain affects the brain, and especially shuts down creativity, I kept putting off making the needed revisions. I have discovered that trying to write while dealing with an unbearably high pain level is not a good idea. The few times I tried, I came back later to check what I'd written and ended up with this series of actions: shake my head, say "What was I thinking?" and delete, delete, delete.

Now that I'm on some new medicine (finally!) and my pain is at a lower level and a more even keel, it was time to give it a try again. This time, the result was SUCCESS! With the old version and the new version side-by-side on my computer screen, I added changes to the old version until I reached completely new territory, where I was able to tie the two versions together. I love the way these new changes make part of the story work out much, much more smoothly, and I especially appreciate the people who brainstormed with me, which led to these changes!

Suzanne Hartman

Author of the Fast Track Thriller series: