Eventually, no amount of grief or self-pity makes 80-plus pages of lost manuscript pop back into being; they’re gone and they’re staying gone no matter how many weight loss pills, motivational tapes and meditation seminars one indulges in.

As John Wayne might say, eventually you just have to get up, dust yourself off and get back on the horse, or you’ll never ride again. I came to that point this weekend and decided I wanted to keep riding. So I’m back to writing finally, and this is the last post where I’ll mourn about the pages I lost.

But will I back up my novel on one or two flash drives from now on?

Bet on it.