# I had plans to write a novel, but... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 7, 2001, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168 "2001-03-07T22:50:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![callie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2acd7d/32.png) [@callie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/callie)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/21 "2001-03-08T02:04:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Crunchy Frog \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by callie \* > > **I’m glad you’re back crunchy frog Missed you!** > > Who are you? Do I like you? Are you a female? If so, where’s the nekkid pic you owe me? > > 😉 \*\* Well gee **crunchy** - lets see – I was born in a little town in Ohio about 30 years ago on a crisp autumn… thats not what you meant? I am me. (no - I’m not blond) As for the second question --I guess that is yet to be seen. Yes, I’m woman -hear me roar 😉 No nakkid picks as of… yet. Looking forward to getting to know **you** better 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/22 "2001-03-08T02:06:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by UncleBill \* > **AMD-K6, 300MHz, 64Mb RAM, big HD, yada yada, for $395 plus tax. Keyboard, speakers, mouse included. Nothing big.** And where did you get all this? The thing is, I have a friend who builds computers for a living, but I either get his machine (and don’t leave a message - I know, not nice) or I forget to call his work during the day. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/23 "2001-03-08T02:12:39Z")
**SilkyThroat** , er, I mean **Threat** - you don’t email me! Don’t you like me anymore? I’m so bored over here at work! I was actually thinking of starting a thread asking people to email me or call me at work or _something_ just cuz I’m SO DAMN BORED! **callie** - how YOU doin? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/24 "2001-03-08T02:12:55Z")
A place called American Computer Traders in Ft Lauderdale, FL. I think the website is [http://www.pcvalues.com](http://www.pcvalues.com) or something. 1100 East Oakland Park Blvd. 954-566-8550. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/25 "2001-03-08T02:13:42Z")
Welcome back, Crunchy. It doesn’t sound like you actually want to write, so I hope to be seeing you around for a long time to come. But if you do disappear again, good luck on the book. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/26 "2001-03-08T02:17:12Z")
Thanks for the info **UncleBill**. I’ll have to check them out and see if they’ll take a check, cuz I don’t have any credit cards right now (totally unrelated to me not balancing my checkbook, BTW). ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/27 "2001-03-08T02:18:21Z")
I got a new car. It’s pretty. 🙂 Hi, Crunchy! ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/28 "2001-03-08T02:20:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Silver Fire \* > \*\*I got a new car. It’s pretty. 🙂 Hi, Crunchy! \*\* What, no link to your thread about it? Hi, Silver Fire! ---
**Author:** ![Totoro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Totoro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Totoro)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/29 "2001-03-08T02:21:51Z")
Crunch, I didn’t mean to brag… then… MY BOOK RULES AND YOURS SUCKS AND I RULE OVER EVERYTHING! Qed. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/30 "2001-03-08T02:22:56Z")
Crunchy…if it makes you feel better, my novel - of which there were 6 copies (3 floppy disks, 2 hard drives, 1 hard copy) - is lost. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/31 "2001-03-08T02:30:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Totoro \* > **MY BOOK RULES AND YOURS SUCKS AND I RULE OVER EVERYTHING!** Ha! Well, see the joke’s on you, because that which does not exist, cannot suck. See, so you’re the one who… it’s all because you… Aw screw it, I suck. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mermaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@The\_Mermaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mermaid)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/32 "2001-03-08T02:37:21Z")
My little heart went pitter patter when I saw that you had posted earlier today. Welcome back. Thanks for well---- just being you. :hugs & smooches: [sub] I knew you couldn’t stay away much longer. This place is like a disease for which there is no cure. But a good kind. [/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/33 "2001-03-08T02:43:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Crunchy Frog \* > \*\*What, no link to your thread about it? \*\* Nah, I’m not really into advertising my own threads unless they have something in common with another thread, in which case I’ll toss a link in. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![relic\_11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/50afbb/32.png) [@relic\_11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/relic_11)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/34 "2001-03-08T02:53:46Z")
::Waves to Crunchy :):: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mermaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@The\_Mermaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mermaid)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/35 "2001-03-08T03:07:56Z")
Mr. Frog, Your presence is requested [at the zoo.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=62031) Hop to it. ---
**Author:** ![Tommy\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Tommy\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tommy_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/36 "2001-03-08T03:13:01Z")
Now all is right with the world. [sub]Well, at least with MPSIMS.[/sub] Welcome back **Crunchy**. ---
**Author:** ![OrcaChow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e47c2d/32.png) [@OrcaChow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OrcaChow)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/37 "2001-03-08T05:21:23Z")
> [@](#): > > May writer’s cramp cripple the hand you favor for masturbation! If it’ll make you feel any better, Crunchy, I raked my yard today and forgot to wear workgloves. Ended up losing skin between thumb and index finger. The monkey shall go undisciplined for a few days. And along the lines of Tengu’s experience in losing work… Years ago, I planned to install a second hard drive and a tape backup unit into my PC. On it, I had about two years of vignettes, dialogues and various noodling that was morphing into my novel. Did I decide to install the tape drive first, so I could back up the first hard drive in case something went wrong? Noooooooo. After all, what could go wrong? I was just adding a second IDE drive as slave. I’d done it at least fifty times at work. So I installed the second hard drive, made sure the two drives were properly jumpered, and turned the machine on. The PC wouldn’t recognize EITHER drive. All partitioning was blown away. I called tech support and, yes, I did everything right EXCEPT that a bizarre anomaly results when a Seagate Foofah is the primary and a Maxtor Geegaw is the secondary. [What did I have? Yep.] Was it documented on their BBS? Nope. Data’s gone, dude. Repartition, reformat and reinstall. And thanks for calling Tech Support. I had backup on floppy, but I found the (I’m dating this story) 5.25" diskettes had fallen behind a cabinet and cooked on a baseboard heater. Furniture flew. Furniture broke. The cats evacuated the apartment for the rest of the day. I screamed so loud for so long that I blew out my throat and got sick for several days. I restarted the writing from scratch and memory (such as it was/is). It was painful at first, then an epiphany. The result was a much better novel/WIP. And three major drafts/rewrites later, I hope it’s _vastly_ better. And I backup religiously. Redundant hard drives on the desktop, a copy on the laptop, and two copies on diskette. ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/38 "2001-03-08T05:28:20Z")
I’m glad to see you back here. I have a question: do you really _need_ a plot? There are a few Great Novels that don’t have much plot – like **Under the Volcano** or **Portnoy’s Complaint** … Whatever you decide, I’m sure it will work fine. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/39 "2001-03-08T05:54:36Z")
I missed you, CF. I am glad you’re back, too. (Just a small thought here…why don’t you buy a tape recorder instead of a computer right now. Something to at least hold your thoughts/ideas until you get off your butt and WRITE.) Anyway, back to the bouncing for joy at your return 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168/40 "2001-03-08T05:57:36Z")
I really don’t need anything to hole thoughts or ideas, I don’t have a problem with that. What I need is a computer/typewriter/stenographer to put those thoughts and ideas in book form. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-plans-to-write-a-novel-but/57168.md?page=3)