My Computer is Still Being Repaired and Why You Should Care

Last week I posted about my computer suffering the "Black Screen of Death" and that I had to take it in for repair. You can re-read it at https://writeaholic-inspiration.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-black-screen-of-death.html.

Well, sadly, it's still being repaired. It's been seven days since I took it to the Apple store and it's still there.

I rang them this morning and they said that it needs a few spare parts like a new keyboard, trackpad, screen, etc, you know... just a few bits and pieces.

Which means that this past week I've had no access to any of my computer files, no email, and I don't like to use my writing computer to sign into my online accounts so I haven't logged into any of them. I like to keep my writing computer as empty as possible so that it can never be used to access my accounts.

So instead of working online I've been doing quite a bit of off-line writing (except for a couple of posts to my blog) but haven't been able to check my email or check any of my online accounts or upload anything.

But my computer should be back sometime tomorrow so I'll have a lot to catch up on.

But you're probably wondering why you should care.

And it's because what has happened to my computer is a good reminder to keep regular backups of all your work.

I was lucky because I'd backed up my computer the day before it crashed. I usually back it up weekly, or more often if I'm working on a big project like a book, because I've known writers who have lost nearly full manuscripts because they didn't back up their work often enough.

So if you use your computer a lot, make it a habit to back it up regularly. I usually do mine at the end of every week, or every day.

You see, my whole writing and publishing business runs from one computer so I cannot afford to lose it all, or lose even a small part of it.

And that's why computer backups are so, SO important.

I can't afford to lose all my work.

And either can you.

The Black Screen of Death

Last month I wrote a post about how my Mac Book Pro hadn't been working properly and had to go to the Apple store for repairs, so I was offline for a few days while it was done. You can re-read the post at https://writeaholic-inspiration.blogspot.com/2019/01/off-line-and-not-writing.html.

Anyway, my computer hasn't really been the same since, despite the guys at the store telling me that my operating system was corrupted and they had to reinstall it, which they assured me would solve the problem.

But my computer was still acting up intermitently with freezing, not being able to connect to the internet, and then, eventually, yesterday, I got the Black Screen of Death.

What happened was that I was happily using my computer and it was actually behaving well. Then I closed it, had some lunch, opened it again and the keyboard immediately lit up but the screen stayed black.

Nothing to see but a big, black screen.

I Googled the hell out of it (using my iPhone) and followed all the instructions of how to cure it, but nothing happened.

So eventually I had to give in and take it to the computer store where it still lies.

I was also super annoyed because yesterday was an extremely hot and sunny day (36 degrees, or for those not on the metric system, 96.8 degrees) plus it was SO humid that I could feel the sweat trickling down my back as I walked the 15 minute journey and when I got to the shop and took my computer out of my bag, it felt really hot too.

At the moment I'm using my writing computer which is a Mac Book Air. I keep this one separate and it has no automatic logins to my accounts and I don't use email on it either. It's just a plain old computer that I use for typing.

I usually keep it so plain and boring for two reasons. One is so that I'm not distracted by anything on it like emails, and two, because it's the computer I use when I'm away from home, at the park or in the library, and if it ever got stolen, there's nothing personal or private on it. Whenever I write, I save the documents to a flash drive and delete them from this computer.

But sadly, I've had to log in to my blog account to write this post (plus others I'm getting ready to go), but once I've finished, I'll sign out and go back to using it as a glorified Word Processor like I usually do.

And hopefully my main computer will be back again soon.

Thankfully, I'd just done a complete back up of it the day before so at least I know I haven't lost any files.

I back my computer up every few days (or every day if I'm writing a book) and I hope you do too because your hard work can never be replaced once it's lost.

Unlike a computer.

I'm just hoping that my computer's Black Screen of Death isn't as fatal as it sounds.

3 Day Monk eBook Writing

Have you heard of the expression '3 Day Monk?'

It means doing something intensely but giving up after 3 days. Sometimes it's not used negatively and is simply meant to mean having intense focus for 3 days in order to get something done.

But 3 days is usually not enough time to achieve anything worthwhile.

For instance, it doesn't work for weight loss or for getting better habits.

But it can be enough time to write an ebook if you're motivated, focused and can write quickly without distraction.

Many authors have written best sellers in 3 days. So can you do it?

What if you could write an ebook in double that time, say, 6 days? That would still be quite an achievement.

I've written about how to do it in my free "How to Write a Book in 6 Days" PDF ebook that you can download straight away.

No sign-up is needed.

http://ruthiswriting.com/free-ebooks.html

The One and Only Secret to Making Money Writing eBooks

When I first ever thought about writing an ebook, I thought it would take months to do.

First I had to have a great idea. Then I needed to outline it, write it, edit it, proofread it, get a cover and publish it.

Sounds like a lot, doesn't it?

But first of all what I didn't realise is that the publishing part is easy and an ebook takes less than 5 minutes to publish.

And as to the outlining and writing, well... that depends on several different factors like how long your ebook is, how focused you are and how fast you can write.

If there's one thing that is THE most important when it comes to writing any book, it's how motivated you are which also influences how fast you can write.

And one thing that I've learned, is that the more I write, the faster I get.

That's because anything is easier and faster the more you do it, and eventually, you develop your own routines and ways of writing.

There are many authors who've found that they can write an ebook in as little as 3 days.

Sylvester Stalone wrote the script for Rocky in 3 days, and best selling author Stuart Wilde wrote most of his books in 2 or 3 days.

And you can download my free ebook "How to Write a Book in 6 Days" to learn more.
http://ruthiswriting.com/free-ebooks.html