At school we had one particular teacher (let's call her Miss Watson) who had an unfailingly positive attitude; no matter what the problem, however poor the outlook, she would smile, take a deep breath and say "Now girls, here's a challenge for us! How are we going to deal with this one?" Later in life, when I read some "motivational" books, I could imagine her as their author, penning the relentless message to look for the opportunities in every untoward situation, to determine how to make a silk purse out of whatever pig's ear life had dumped in your lap. When I had a take-away Chinese meal the evening before last, I found a similar exhortation in a fortune cookie; after a "challenging" couple of weeks, I was in no mood to be so chivied along!
But perhaps as writers we need the odd kick up the backside, the odd reminder that we can salvage at least something from almost any venture that's gone awry - and maybe that something could turn out to be more than second best. For a variety of reasons, life has got the better of me lately, and writing plans have certainly been derailed; but rather than trying to pick up the pieces, I've left them be, as it were, and resurrected a couple of older, shelved projects. Amazing how looking at things with fresh eyes can rejuvenate discarded ideas and plans! I think Miss Watson might have been on to something after all ...
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