The question took me by surprise. We were about halfway through the semester, and I’d finally figured out the rhythm and patterns of my 10:10- 11:40 Techniques of Fiction class. I’d come in just before class started to a roomful of students talking and joking with each other. I’d try to say something pithy to get us started, then remind everyone what we had read for the day—typically, two student stories to workshop and one story by the likes of Faulkner or Cather or Baldwin. I’d say, “Let’s start with the workshop—who’s dying to go first?” The student authors would exchange glances, both shrug slightly, and then one would finally speak: “I’ll go.” This was business-as-usual.
But on this day, I walked into the room and, before I could make any type of witty remark, a student said, “Can I ask a question?”
“Sure,” I replied, settling into my seat.
“What do you do when you have writer’s block?” Continue reading “Attack the Block”