I had a bad day again...

What do you do on those days when things are going bad, and writing is the last thing on your mind?

This morning I woke up to steady rain and burnt oatmeal.  Later I have to get a cavity filled.  I don't expect much from my brief writing attempts today, but I've got a 10-minute play assignment due for tomorrow.  As I write this I am only up to about six and a half minutes.  At least writing this post has gotten my fingers moving. 

Quitting

Have you ever decided to quit writing?  Did you ever hang up your hat and decide you were done with it?  What brought you back?

I did it a couple of times, mostly when I wasn't receiving support from home, or when basis survival was on the line.  I always came back because the ideas just wouldn't stop.

Teachers

I finally got up the nerve to send my scant pages to my thesis advisor.  I do look forward to her response, though, because she is a great teacher.  I've had good ones and I've had bad ones, but my emotional favorite was my 7th grade English teacher who held up a poem of mine and cried out, "She's done it again!" That had something to do with me becoming a writer, I think.

What teacher had the biggest influence on your decision to become a writer?