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?