As I post this on rsts11 on the 11th, my second and third Novel November videos are up. The second one came out on November 2nd. The write-up (not a literal transcript, but close) is below the video link. To catch my videos when they come out, subscribe to the Andromedary Instinct YouTube channel and my Novel November playlist.

For this one, I used the iPhone 17 Pro Max as usual, the BASN Dynamic Microphone connected via USB-C to the phone, and the Midstriddle heavy duty phone stand to hold the phone.

See the first part here: https://rsts11.com/2025/11/04/another-novel-november-this-time-with-video/

My third video, a literal-ish walk-through of my morning writing ritual and a not-so-great wireless lavalier microphone test is live here: https://rsts11.com/2025/11/11/walk-through-my-daily-writing-ritual-with-me-for-novel-november-and-beyond/

I know you just started writing your 2025 November Novel, but it’s the best time to start backing up your book.

Even if it’s just a single page.

I’ll tell you how I do it myself, and why I should do better, and help you with starting your 3-2-1 backup plan for your writing (or any important files).

But first, my word count progress:

11/1: over 1700 words today, over 1700 words total for November
11/2: over 1800 words today, over 3600 words total for November

I recorded this on the afternoon of the first but had to crop the video before posting. I also realized there’s a gain knob on the microphone I’m using, and I should turn it up a bit.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

00:00 Let’s get started
00:45 The 3-2-1 rule for backups
03:49 Looking for something to write about
06:13 That’s all for today

BACKING UP YOUR NOVEL

The 3-2-1 rule is pretty simple. There are other versions of it, but this is a good start.

Keep 3 copies of your file as backups.

Have at least two different media. I suggest a cloud service if you have one, a USB flash drive, and another external drive like a USB SSD (or a different kind of flash drive)
Have one of them offsite at all times. Cloud covers this, but you might also get in the habit of taking an external drive somewhere outside your house (even if it’s in your car).

I store my local copies in Microsoft OneDrive, which comes with my Office subscription. I manually copy them to the MOVE SPEED drive shown below, then unplug and plug it back in and Dropbox picks it up and backs up automatically.

Since most of my “primary” copies live on Reedsy, technically that’s backed up in a sense. But you can’t count on Reedsy’s disaster recovery plan (or any SAAS) to protect your data.

So if you use Reedsy, Autocrit, or any other online editor, export your file locally and back it up as shown above. For your first Novel November I’d suggest once a week. Maybe while you’re watching my weekly update video. After that, let your writing be your guide. If you don’t write for a month, there’s nothing new to update. If you write another 50,000 words in December, back it up at least weekly.

And if you have the means, consider printing anything you “finish” – even if it’s a first draft. You can stash that somewhere, and scan it back in if you really lose everything else.

WRITING PROMPTS AND BRAINSTORMING

You can find a lot of sources for inspiration and creative prodding. I picked up 642 Things To Write About from the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto at a local thrift shop, and it could be useful for getting your words flowing. It may not flow into novel territory, but in some cases it may. Amazon has thousands of other prompt and idea books too.

WHAT TO BACK UP TO:

As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The Amazon links below and above are affiliate links.

Need a backup drive? Go to your local big box store, electronics store, or online retailer. Here are my recommendations (and I’ve used them all personally):

SanDisk 128GB Ultra USB 3.0 drive – $10 for 32GB, $15 for 128GB () – these are the kind I showed the bag of in the video.

SanDisk 128GB Ultra Flair USB-A 3.0 – $13+ at Amazon – works with most PCs, and other computers with adapters.

SanDisk 128GB Ultra Dual Drive Go – $16 at Amazon – works with PC and Mac as well as most mobile phones.

MOVE SPEED 512GB magnetic SSD – $80 at Amazon – overkill for most, but this is my offsite USB drive.

TWOPAN 256GB finger print lock SSD – $80 at Amazon – again, overkill, but if you’re paranoid and want fingerprint security, it works pretty well. I have one on my desktop right now.

Again, part 3 of this series is now live, with a walk-through of my morning ritual: https://rsts11.com/2025/11/11/walk-through-my-daily-writing-ritual-with-me-for-novel-november-and-beyond/