Comments on: Tech Tips - How to Organize Your Novel Drafts

By: denise

denise — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 02:35:06 +0000

great ideas

By: Kris

Kris — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 13:22:26 +0000

In reply to Ronda Wells. Wow, Ronda! That's exciting that you can save yourself a bit of trouble and focus on your work instead. Cheers! Kris

By: Kris

Kris — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 14:49:54 +0000

In reply to Debbie Vilardi. I'm sorry you lost your changes, but you are sharing a real example of where-did-my-work-go? This is a helpful reminder, for sure. The power goes out frequently by me and even a little blip can erase a hard earned sentence. I haven't checked the autosave feature for timing but I will soon. Thank you! Kris

By: Kris

Kris — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 14:46:34 +0000

In reply to Joanne LePoidevin.

You are not alone, Joanne. 🙂
Creatives have a notorious reputation for setting things down and with distractions, lose them. Or so I'm told.

Thanks for reaching out. All the best in trying a new saving system. It can really make a big difference.

Kris

By: Debbie Vilardi

Debbie Vilardi — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 15:16:27 +0000

I have been saved by Word's Autosave feature a few times. Once, the power went out while I was working. (I'm on a desktop---my uninterrupted power supply failed.) Another time, I had scheduled a backup but mistyped the time and I had not clicked save when I stopped typing. (If I know I'm coming right back, I don't always remember to do so--say the phone rang or I went to refill my water). Thankfully, Autosave has had all or all but the very last changes I had made in the session. It's a good idea to check how frequently your files save and to know where to find those autosaved docs: [Link deleted]

By: Joanne LePoidevin

Joanne LePoidevin — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 10:59:42 +0000

Thank you. Thank you. This will save me hours of trying to find my new and last drafts. I appreciate it.

By: Kris

Kris — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 02:41:17 +0000

In reply to Vince. Thanks for sharing this, Vince! I'm sure it could be helpful for writers not interested in using Scrivener.

By: Vince

Vince — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 06:13:28 +0000

For anyone not using scrivener, ywriter7 is a free alternative. It doesnt have all the bells and whistles of scrivener, but will help enormously. Good Writing!

By: Kris

Kris — Sat, 13 Dec 2025 07:35:06 +0000

@Carol B.
"Hi Kris- this was a great post and one I will refer to many times. I experienced this A LOT when I wrote my first novel (over 18 years!) and want to avoid it next time. I work in Scrivener. Do you upload it to Word after every time you write? I just did it at the end... thanks again."

Thanks for jumping into the lost-my-work convo. You are in good company here as many of us have gone through this. Losing my work was so frustrating that I did try something new - and yes, I save a new file each time I do a writing session.

If I am closing the computer or waling away for another task... I try to save a new copy. With a new name and a new time. It gives me a peace of mind, and the file saves at the top of my folders!
Kris

By: Kris

Kris — Sat, 13 Dec 2025 07:28:22 +0000

In reply to Karen A Lin.

This is an important consideration. This could mean that you lose the newer content, though?
In a situation like this (saving to a previous point where one had all the previous edits,) I found myself second guessing and wondering if I ever got all of my words back.

Carefully saving can help keep the writer relaxed, confident that they are not losing their work.
Thanks for sharing this.