A. S. Andrews

Praying mantis patrolling the pool fence . . .

Watch out all you flies.

My flash story, Wherein Fear of Karma Dawns Too Late, is published today at Every Day Fiction. Check it out!

Sometimes you can learn a lot from a children’s book.  Fancy Nancy: Poet Extradorinaire!, by Jane O’Connor, has been a favorite in our house this summer. It even inspired my daughter to create her own book of poetry. Unfortunately, it also introduced her to writer’s block – the dreaded state of feeling stuck, to which Ms. Glass (Fancy Nancy’s teacher in the series), simply says, “It happens to everybody. It’ll go away.” How true!

But I must admit – at first, I didn’t like this reference to writer’s block in a children’s book. Why tell kids about getting stuck so early on? I was even more upset when my daughter sat down to write a poem and several minutes later announced she was “in a writer’s block.” Seriously? Five is too young for writer’s block! Of course, several minutes later she was off doing something else, forgot all about her writer’s block, and later that day wrote her poem.

Then I realized the problem.  I was imbuing those two words –“Writer’s Block!” – with much more power than they should hold. I was pouring a lifetime’s worth of bad press and negativity into them – everything I’ve read or heard about writer’s block and the myriad ways, some fairly convoluted and time consuming, to get unstuck. But why do that?

In the end, writer’s block is whatever you make it. You can figure out what’s really going on and work around it, or realize you just don’t want to write – today, tomorrow, maybe ever. What I really like about Ms. Glass’s explanation of writer’s block is that she shrinks it back down to what it really is: not an excuse to do nothing, not something to bemoan or dwell on, but something that happens to everyone and goes away.  And that’s a good lesson for all of us to learn!

Now, for the coffee.

In honor of coffee, and inspired by one of my daughter’s favorite poems – George Shannon’s Dig In (reprinted in Fancy Nancy: Poet Extradorinaire! and also here online) – a little copy change fun:

Buy a little, buy a lot, buy fresh beans to fill your pot.
Brew a little, brew a lot, brew the darkest roast you’ve bought.
Wait a little, wait a lot, coffee stronger than you thought!
Drink a little, drink a lot, share the coffee that you’ve got!