Is there an undo save button?

Dolly

You've finished your first novel.  You ask a friend to look through with a Big Red Pen for errors and you spend the next month eating take-aways, and ignoring everyone except the cat, while you correct the mistakes.  

You agree with your co-writer that it’s time for one last read through.  With a sinking heart you notice a continuity error fairly near the beginning of the plot.  That's OK you think, it shouldn't take long.

You’ve re-written the scene and it's so much better now.  You carry on, tidying up sentences and correcting typos, until it's time for lunch.  You go out to a warm cafe with a friend to deal with the last badly placed commas. As you boot up your laptop, a file opens from a previous session.  You insert your memory stick - in my case, called Wingless Duck.  

Wingless Duck

You order a pot of tea and laugh with your friend gaily, without a care in the world. Your book is almost finished. You join an infinitive to a straying verb and press save.

Screeching sound of brakes.

You've just saved the uncorrected copy on the screen, over your corrected one on Wingless Duck.  The morning’s precious rewrite is gone.  You search in vain for a way back, scrabbling with your cyber fingernails at the cliff-face of Word 2000.  You gasp, clap your hands to your forehead and spew a string of expletives across your pot of tea for two. 

You look at your friend - your eyes wide and lost.

"Is there an undo save button?" you ask.

Your friend slowly shakes his head.  You stare at the screen together, searching for temporary files and other magical beasts.  Your quest is in vain. You take a deep breath, order an entire chocolate cake, and start again.

Taranor, a Faerie Fantasy story for young adults of all ages, is due to be published on Amazon mid-May.

http://taranor.blogspot.co.uk/