Onward and Upward

The last 12 months disappeared. One day I was working on a book and the next day my volunteer efforts at a local public access television station turned into a full-time gig without compensation. Call me crazy, but it took me 9 months to come to my senses, i.e. realize that my good deeds were futile and it was time to walk away from what started as a desire to make a contribution, and became a thankless series of tasks. I thought I could save the day with my 25-years of experience as a writer/producer but the hole was deep and money was scarce.

As a good friend of mine always says when times are tough, “Onward and upward, then.” My first thought was to get back to my blog. Imagine my surprise when my site was gone. Apparently, I’d miss the deadline (by several months) to renew my domain. In spite of wanting to scream, I convinced myself to not panic. In a flashback, I recalled the system bomb that made a book disappear back in 1984. I was working on my first computer and didn’t know about backing up. Boy, did I learn that lesson in a hurry. That time I did panic, but I also learned that rewriting is faster and often better than a previous draft. At least that’s what I told myself to keep from slashing my wrists. Then, just in case all was lost, I convinced myself that maybe it was time for me to do something else like become a professional chef or a dog walker–something that had nothing to do with technology.

This time, because I’m older (ugh) and wiser (at least about some things), I called my friend Evelyn who built my previous site. As luck would have it, she had a backup from last March so I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel. I purchased a new domain (my old one would cost me $300 dollars — highway robbery but that’s another story) and I’m now .net rather than .com. Evelyn installed a new theme, which is still being tweaked (is a website ever done?) Most importantly, I have visions of completing a book I was writing “before my venture down the public access rabbit hole” and of showing other writers and content experts how to get their ideas on to the page.

Today’s Writing Tip: (Don’t volunteer — Write your book)