Most of us have no idea what it's like to knock out a manuscript on a manual typewriter. To deal with correction tape and changing the ribbon. I've used an electric typewriter but that was long ago. Yes, I am that old. Trust me, you haven't lived until you've tried to use correction tape on a piece of paper that's still in the typewriter so you don't have to line the paper up again. It's a test of a person's patience.

Some authors like doing things the hard way. Whether it's using a manual typewriter or writing things out longhand in a notebook. Some people will say a computer is the easy way out. I will never say that. I love my laptop, and I never want to use a typewriter ever again. I'd spend half my time making corrections.

There is something to be said for keeping handwritten notes or backups of things.

I used to write notes in the notepad feature on my phone, but I never thought much about it. They were there on my phone when I needed them. That is, until some ass stole my phone and I lost them all. I lost everything, including the pictures of my cat Max, who had just passed away a couple of months prior. It was an older phone with no cloud backup, so it was literally gone.

So, my tip for all of you is to back up your stuff and do it often. Whether it's your computer or your phone. Back it up to something, somewhere. The cloud or a thumb drive, whatever. Change your passwords now and then as well. If your device is stolen, report it immediately. As soon as that guy grabbed my phone and bolted, I used a phone at the library and called T-mobile and had them shut down the phone and lock it. When I got home, I changed all the passwords for the apps I had on the phone.

It's also a good idea not to write directly into a website (like Wattpad for example). Things can happen, and people lose things. I've seen people on here lose entire chapters or even an entire book. Write in Word or Google docs and copy and paste your chapters into Wattpad. Always keep a copy of your work in more than one place.

I realize this chapter didn't have much to do with the actual writing process, but I felt it was important information.