Outlook

Today hasn't been a very good day. Without going into details, things didn't turn out the way I had planned. In fact, nothing went my way.

Oh, that's ridiculous. It's all in how I look at the day. I went to the library to do some research using books. Now that was different. I still took my laptop, but decided I would read and walk around, checking out titles. No fiction, just reference material and nonfiction. It was fun.

So, while personal and professional things were in the toilet, I got lost in a world of books. For me, it was simply wonderful. Every so many titles, I would slip out a volume of interest and flip through it. About every 5th book, something of interest would grab me and I would walk back to my table and type a few notes.

There was a gentleman sitting at the table next to me and he was having some difficulty, so I asked if I could help. He too had a laptop, but forgot his wireless card, so was forced to use the library computers, which you have to sign in for and wait in line. I lent him my thumbdrive to save stuff and bring it back to load on his laptop. I had seen him at the library before and we had shared pleasantries. Before you knew it, we were chatting away. I discovered that he was retired and now tuned pianos and restored antique organs.

How cool is that? We talked about all sorts of things and I really found his insights and input marvelous. I learned things I never knew and we shared advice and observations. For awhile, I forgot all my trials and tribulations, if i really had any.

Still, once I had spent several hours, I decided it was time to get back to work. You know, the tedious stuff. As I was driving, I was thinking more than paying attention to the road. Nothing bad happened, but suddenly I had reached my destination, without remembering how I got there. Sitting down at my desktop, I had a ton of emails to sort through and a list of projects to complete, and I really didn't want to do any of it.

I wanted to write. To immerse myself in characters and plot and action and grammar, and all the wonderful elements that make up a story. Instead, I forced myself to do the necessary stuff. I was at my very grumpiest, when I got an email from my sister. She's a published author too - mysteries. We're kindred spirits in many ways, though she's much more level-headed than I.

This is what she sent in her email.

Ms. Whitney ascribed her success as a writer to persistence and an abiding faith in her abilities. "Never mind the rejections, the discouragement, the voices of ridicule (there can be those too)," she wrote in "Guide to Fiction Writing." "Work and wait and learn, and that train will come by. If you give up, you'll never have a chance to climb aboard."

There are times, like today, when I question my sanity. Who in their right mind would want to be a writer? Then I think back to the man at the library and how much I enjoyed myself for awhile.

Tomorrow will be a lot better.

It always is.

That's because it depends on your outlook.