Back in the Swing

Well, sort of, that is.

My office is just about finished, with the exception of Al, who still hasn't gotten back up on the wall yet, and my penguin poster. My files are unpacked and a bit more organized than they were in my old office. However, when I unpacked my WIP box (yep, it actually took up a box. Not a huge box, mind you, but a box just the same.) I realized that the first three chapters to After the Storm are missing. Gone. Nowhere to be found. Yikes.

This book is in the fourth draft, so there were edits on those rotten pages, and I have a sinking feeling I didn't make them to the computer file (I know, I know - shame on me - but hey, I was really busy there for a while.) And yet, I remain quite calm about this.

There's three reasons for that:

1. I have the other thirty-odd chapters. It's only the first three. No biggie.

2. What good would a total freak-out do? Really - they're gone. I probably tossed them when I was cleaning everything out of my office. Total blonde moment, but considering the stress, not altogether unbelievable, either. There's still a very slim chance I might find them tucked in another box, since I tend to wander when revising. I can't sit at my desk and rewrite - I have to be comfy, so I usually end up on the sofa. This means I tend to find chapters here and there around the house, so it's entirely possible they are in a box I haven't unpacked yet (like my cookbook box. I need to get a baker's rack for my cookbooks, so they remain in the box.) So all might not be lost. Yet.

3. I find that when I'm revising and pages go missing (which happens more often than you might think) I tend to make the same revisions. I'll rewrite, then find the old pages, and see that the changes are almost identical. So, all is not lost.

I guess it's time to print out those first three chapters and take a look. It's been a while since I last revised, so we'll see if I can remember what I wanted to change the first time around. If not, who knows? Maybe I'll come up with something better. And I'm sure, when I finish, I'll probably find those missing chapters.