So, over the weekend, Hurricane Hanna hit New York with a fury. The city was pummelled by over 6 inches of rain, and it happened to be at its worst when I was coming home from dinner with one of my friends. I was caught in the torrential downpour with no rain protection, nowhere near my train. . . and my bag was not nearly as waterproof as I expected it would be. My computer was fine; I had it in an InCase neoprene sleeve (which I definitely recommend—it’s saved my computer more times than I’d like to recount).

However, on that day, I wasn’t just carrying my computer. I had decided the night before to bring some old personal journals with me so I could mine them for fiction and nonfiction material. And while my computer survived the downpour just fine, my personal journals did not. You know how I say on here so often that all my posts, as well as most of my fiction, starts out written by hand? Well. . . I had three volumes of work with me: approximately two hundred pages’ worth of handwritten drafts and rumination, ranging in date from mid-June through the present. And I learned the hard way that my favorite pens were not water-resistant in the least. Some of the pages are salvageable. Some, however, look like the byproducts of a course in watercolor painting for beginners.

I’m dealing with the fallout. I’m harvesting what I can of the material, and I’m already putting a plan in place to prevent similar things from happening in the future. Unfortunately, working with artists all day at my day job, I’m well aware that this isn’t rare. Notable artists and writers lose work all the time—their offices are engulfed in flames, their work is inadvertently hosed down like mine was last night, their studios are looted. . . or they just misplace them, throw them away by accident, or leave them on the train. In any case, no matter what your medium, it’s important to take preventative steps against these kinds of things. I’m going to give you some ideas about how to avoid the fate that’s befallen so many people before you (including me). With a little bit of precaution and planning, you’ll be home safe. . .and so will your work.

  • Choose your medium wisely. Some of of them choose their media based on what’s going to last the longest—for instance, using silverpoint instead of charcoal, or applying fixative to make sure the pieces don’t become smeared or difficult to read. Obviously not everyone is a visual artist, but everyone can choose a medium that safeguards against physical damage. If you’re a writer or a visual artist, use oil-based pens on archival paper, or pencil on waxy paper (apparently there are notebooks made of wax-coated paper that are intended for use among naturists who trek through the rain. . . I’m going to find them and give them a try!)
  • Produce a ton of work. The more work you have, the harder it will be for you to lose all of it. Though I lost several months’ worth of work this weekend, what softened the blow a little was the fact that I had literally boxes full of more work at home, as well as tons of writing saved in text files on my external hard drive and in my Google Docs. Yes, the work that remained unscathed may have been older, and it may have contained a lot of work that I felt wasn’t my best because it was done so long ago. . . but it’s better than having nothing left at all. Also, this is giving me a really good opportunity to go through all my old writing
  • Be careful with it. This is kind of a no-brainer. Keep it dry, safe, and away from fires. Use your head. Clearly I did a rather stupid thing when I carried four journals with me at once without putting them in a plastic protective sleeve, and also when I ran through the rain without stopping in a drugstore to ask for a plastic bag so I could protect my work. I’m kicking myself now; you guys can learn from my mistakes.
  • Keep your work in a safe place. . . or several safe places. Here again, my saving grace was the fact that I didn’t have all my work with me. So don’t carry it all with you at once. When you store it or pack it to move, don’t pack it all together. Split it into several places (and several formats if possible—see below).
  • Back it up. . .in more than one way. Type it up and put it in your Google Docs folder. Drop it onto an external hard drive. Burn a DVD of it and take it to lock up in your desk drawer at work. Take pictures of it and upload it to your Flickr or your Facebook. Do it frequently and consistently.
  • Don’t let accidents discourage you from working. I hate to be negative, but inevitably something will happen to some work someday. You’ll kick yourself for it, even if you’re not at fault and it has nothing to do with anything you did. And you’ll reach a point at which you question the utility of starting from scratch if there’s a chance that you’ll merely lose your work again. Do not fall into this trap of self-pity. Pick up the pieces. Try some new formats. Channel your regret into creating new work. And be extra-careful next time!

Has something similar ever happened to you? Share what happened and how you dealt with the fallout in the comments.

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