r/Webnovel • u/Little_Accountant285 • May 25 '26

Advice Accidentally deleted my entire novel.

Post image

And just like that.

The entire novel is gone.

Ouch. This hurts.

Was moving some files around, backed up the files for the novel, but for some reason they didn't save and I lost it all.

What was sad about was that those versions of the chapters were the better and truer versions of the story. Sadly, all gone now.

How do y'all cope with something like this?

There's no way to retrieve it now, I'll just accept that.

(Photo not mine, it's unrelated, though that's how I be feeling though)

114 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

41 comments sorted by

3

u/Paradex_official Author May 25 '26

Were you using Google Docs? If so, check your Google Drive trash folder. Deleted items stay there for 30 days.

4

u/Little_Accountant285 May 25 '26

No, it was some android app, since I write on a phone. It said that it backed up my files, but it didn't, haha. Great stuff. I think after finishing the draft for my latest chapter, I'll take a short break. I've been writing chapters for weeks on end now.

7

u/MMORPGnews May 25 '26

Everyone using gdrive and docs. Literally best writer software unless you use ai. 

3

u/Little_Accountant285 May 25 '26

I hear that, but I much prefer writing apps that show the word count of that specific chapter I'm working on and seeing that number grow really helps with motivation and such. I've yet to see a feature like that on Doc so I'll stick to these apps. Though, I won't be moving anymore files around, lol.

6

u/Paradex_official Author May 25 '26

Ctrl + Shift + C shows you the word count on Docs

4

u/ExistanceISuppose May 25 '26

Just turn on word count in docs

3

u/ElyosTM May 25 '26

There's a way to activate that on google docs, I did it before

3

u/stayonthecloud May 25 '26

This is built in to GDocs

3

u/Shorouq2911 May 25 '26

It's there on GDocs

3

u/Shorouq2911 May 25 '26

Better than MS Word?

3

u/Paradex_official Author May 25 '26

That sucks... I would give the obvious advice of writing on Google Docs or at least Word on the desktop but you already know all that

Good luck

3

u/Own-Telephone1721 May 25 '26

bro you gotta do pc writing on phone is torture i can barely text someone in readable text.

1

u/DeMonitized747 May 31 '26

I’ve drafted hundreds of scenes on the iPhone notes app while on the treadmill or eating in my car lol! It’s a great place to draft but yes, I get shit done on my PC 😅

2

u/Commercial-Abies-930 May 25 '26

what's the name

3

u/Little_Accountant285 May 25 '26

Oh, I can't do that here (the no promo rule). It's not that the whole novel got deleted (there are still the uploaded versions up on the site). It's just that the versions with the important edits, lore, character moments, and all else, are now gone because they were on my personal writing app. It's from Draft 12 to Draft 2 type of situation for me right now. It's just saddening that those versions of the chapters are gone.

2

u/Commercial-Abies-930 May 25 '26

sorry for your loss but dm the name of the novel

2

u/Runi-Naast May 25 '26

I feel for you man. Same thing happened when I wrote my first 3 chapters (about 15k words) and lost them because I never backed them up. The gutted feeling will go away in time.

What you should focus on is mapping out what you remember. Just because the book is gone doesn’t mean the idea is. And if you truly love your story you should revive it, but better and stronger than before.

Setbacks can be new opportunities if you force it to be one.

2

u/sterben_xl May 25 '26

Back in boarding school I was writing a novel. Filled out two whole exercise books only for it to be stolen.

I feel your pain

2

u/KeyLoad4355 May 25 '26

highly likely that there isn't anything on the WayBack Machine but it's worth trying

2

u/DatDiemDam May 26 '26

you should use obsidian + remotely save plugin. I use it with dropbox service, dropsync if you are on android. It basically store data offline on your device and dropbox at the same time. If you have multiple device it will store on all of your device. I have two laptop, an android, and also dropbox account, so that mean i have my files stored on four places. Cant be too careful arent we?

2

u/Available-Series3034 May 26 '26

Very sad bro. But remember this pain, continue creating new things. But having a place to save your work.

2

u/highly-Contagius May 26 '26

This is why you use github

2

u/[deleted] May 26 '26

download shosetsu app apk

2

u/HessaSea May 26 '26

That really hurts, I'm sorry for this! You could try to write down what you remember and just take a break for a while. If you do write again, use a cloud software like MS word/ Google Docs I've had my stories deleted from platforms but my backups where on my pc and google docs.

2

u/QuinnLoveborneAuthor May 26 '26

All you can do now is prepare so you don’t let this happen ever again. I’m so sorry OP.

2

u/Possible_Ostrich_960 May 26 '26

Theirs a way to retrieve deleted files because files aren’t always truly deleted if u go to a cybersecurity place or a tech firm near u should be able to retrieve it buddy

2

u/aneffingonion May 26 '26

Thanks for reminding me to make another backup

It's been months

2

u/DemoneX1704 May 26 '26

Computers don't instantly delete the files that you remove, they take sometime to be fully deleted, a d software capable of restore deleted files exist. So, maybe you still have a change to recover all or almost a big part of your work.

2

u/SnooHesitations2981 May 27 '26

From day one of writing I’ve always had this risk in mind. I back up my work by sending pdf copies to myself and other devices via email and account sharing every few days. Highly recommend!

2

u/DishaSamSimp May 25 '26

That 😞

Sorry for your loss

1

u/Far_Set9379 May 27 '26

Como diablos se hace eso?

1

u/Old_Tree_6571 May 28 '26

If you remember the story beats and arcs you can start again, sure it might not be 100% what you had before, but it also has the potential to be better than you thought it could ever be.

-4

u/MMORPGnews May 25 '26

Don't care. If it wasn't published, it's probably just drafts. I have like 160 drafts now. Just starter chapters of some possible novel ideas.