Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Silver Linings


Welcome back, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.

I'm a silver linings kind of gal, and I've blogged about it before, but I hope you'll indulge me while I do it again.

During our sons' two week vacation, we'd planned on camping among enormous sand dunes in Glamis, CA. My husband and sons like riding ATVs & dirt bikes, and I enjoy chillin' at camp with my sisters and friends. It's a family favorite of ours.

This year, we had to cancel our trip. My firefighter hubby was scheduled to work New Year's Eve, and couldn't get the day off. (What? Emergencies don't take holidays? Psh) All of us were very disappointed, but our kids handled the news much better than expected.

We started a game. There were silver linings to canceling our trip, and we challenged each other to find them. I began the game with, "Silver lining! Our new kitties don't have to be alone." From there, the boys picked up on the game. After spending a simple day doing simple things, one of them would say...

Silver lining! We got to have friends over today.
Silver lining! We got to go to the movies.
Silver lining! We went bowling.
Silver lining! We went to a friend's New Year's Eve party.

On and on it went. Yes, we were sad about the trip, but Plan B was a lot of fun. And sometimes Plan B works best in writing and publishing as well.

Your Best Manuscript Ever was soundly rejected? Silver lining! It was a great learning experience.
Dream Agent rejected your manuscript? Silver lining! The perfect agent will fall in love with it.
Big Publisher rejected your manuscript? Silver lining! Small Publisher is your strongest advocate.
Tired of hearing no, or simply want more control? Silver lining! Self-publishing thrives.

Things don't always go the way we want, in regular life and in the writing life. But silver linings are there, we just have to look for them.

Tell me, did your writing path swerve, but Plan B turned out to be better? Are you able to find silver linings when your best laid plans go wrong?

33 comments:

  1. Great idea! I love to think about "silver linings" by myself but I'll include my kids now. :)

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    1. You and me both, Melissa! It sure helps during the rough times, right?

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  2. 'fraid at my age you find them or go under! I've always been blessed as life has shown me that all is not lost. :0)

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    1. Carole, I know you look for silver linings, and you indeed have been blessed.

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  3. I love silver linings!

    And yes, my writing journey has swerved a few times...but those silver linings were always more precious than gold!

    Great post, Julie! Happy New Year!

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    1. So true, Loree! It helps when we focus on the positives :)

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  4. You guys took the right attitude! There is always something just as good or even better if we look.

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    1. "just as good or even better" ... so true, Alex! It helps when we stay open.

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  5. What a great reminder ... all things happen for a reason and you need only look to find the silver lining! Definitely think it's great that your kids picked up on it and realized that silver linings are just as good as, if not better than, the original plan.

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    1. Windy, I tell ya, I was sure proud of them. I'd forget about it until one of them reminded me. Awesome.

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  6. What a wonderful attitude everyone had about the vacation being canceled. It's important to always look for the silver linings. Have a wonderful 2013!

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    1. Susanne, the whole "when life gives you lemons" thing, right?

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  7. You & your boys have a great attitude! I'm a silver linings kinda gal myself though it's not always the first thing I see. As for the career, I never had a plan B per se. It just worked out that way. I was lucky. I hope it works out for you, as well. We're fortunate we have so many options these days. Any way you do it, it's a lot of work!

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    1. Nancy, things went so great for you! You were open to other ideas, and that was perfect.

      One way or another, I know things will work out :)

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  8. Christmas Morning, scheduling called. I flew through Christmas and did not get to spend Christmas with my family. Silver lining: I gave out 200 wings and candy to all the passengers, flew with a great Captain, and met my girlfriend in Amsterdam.

    New Year's Eve day, scheduling called. I flew through the New Year and ended up in Tokyo on New Years Day. Silver lining: I met some great people, slept, wrote, and sold a few books.

    I came home and caught a horrible chest cold. Silver lining: I gave myself two days of doing nothing but resting my body, mind and soul. And wow... the world did not stop without me on the hamster wheel.

    The silver lining game is awesome. I'm going to play this with my family. Thank you!

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    1. Karlene, you are the queen of silver linings! Sorry to hear you were sick, though, and I hope you're feeling better.

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  9. I wish I had an easier time finding silver linings.

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    1. Beth, it's not always easy, right? Sometimes they're easier to find than other times, that's for sure.

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  10. Love this! Things often work out so well when they take unexpected turns. Being open to the possibilities is the key! :)

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    1. Jemi, you totally nailed it. Being open to possibilities really is the key!

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  11. I think I'm on plan "G" by now. Silver lining is that I at least have one book out.

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    1. Plan G...ha! That's awesome. You know what? Your publishing path has been amazing, and it's only just begun :)

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  12. I'm going to use this in my classroom. What a great message. BTW - When our plans get through the whole alphabet, do we start on Plan AA, Plan BB, Plan CC...

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  13. Hooray for the silver lining! There's no storm cloud without one :)

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  14. Sounds like the cancelled trip went a long way toward teaching your kids how to handle disappointment with a good upbeat attitude. You aren't the only one in your family with a penchant for looking for the silver linings; you've passed that valuable talent on to your kids, as well. Good for you! (For ALL of you!)

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  15. You always have the best attitude. Love it! My silver lining is that my loooonnng rewrite has been a blessing in disguise. Would have never had my recent ahas without it.

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  16. Hi, Julie. Actually, I don't know that I have seen your silver linings discussions before... But, now you've got me thinking. Last year while I still had my small publisher, I was given many excuses why my books were everywhere but Amazon. Now that I no longer have that publisher, I was able to take control of my career and get myself there. There have been other things, but they would be too lengthy to list. However, it's really just recognizing that they're there is the point. Right? Silver linings, indeed! Thanks for pointing that out. :)

    -Jimmy

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  17. My writing path has swerved back and forth quite a bit lately...I'm still waiting to see if Plan B will be better. I hope so, but it is what it is. I've made my decisions and I'm taking steps...we'll see where I land!

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  18. I love your attitude! My silver lining was that I self published and sold more books than I expected. But who knows, maybe there is a publisher out there for my next one.

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  19. Call me crazy, but I believe in "meant to be" and so far that seems to have held true with my writing. But the biggest silver lining will always be the wonderful friends that I've made especially you.

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  20. Isn't it wonderful that we can change our attitude toward something like this and turn what was headed toward a downer time into very special days.

    Great way to start your year.

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  21. Oh my gosh... this is my LIFE... Writing was a plan B for me, and it might as well have been my plan A because I love it more than my original plan A... if that makes sense, LOL...

    Life is so interesting... and it really is all about seeing the good in everything--because SO MUCH good happens even when things don't go our way--and life can turn out better than what we initially wanted with our plan B's.

    Man, I'm just going to hug this post. So spot on, Julie. Again, I LOVE your outlook. You really do have such a cool perspective on things. <3

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  22. I'm definitely a silver lining kind of girl. The kids on the other hand are still in training! Glad you all had a good time with plan B

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