I feel him coming. It's not exactly something I look forward to, but it's inevitable. It happens every time I consider my first chapter. Is it engaging enough? Does it hook the audience? Or my climax. Is it satisfying? Do all of the threads of my story tie into this square knot? Or would a slipknot work better? I evaluate my own work and feel him behind me. Distracting, that's what he is. Leave me alone. I need to work.

I call him WeB. That's what he is, too. I get caught in him and I can't move forward or back. So I lay there inspecting the way his fine tendrils attach to the wall. How could something so thin be so strong? They're like sinews, strands of almost-bone. and I relax and trust their strength. And WeB turns into a hammock for just a moment, allowing my stretched brain to heal, lending me some of his elasticity.

Sometimes I rest in his arms for an hour. Sometimes for a month or more. But somehow, the time I spend with writer's block stregthens me and makes my writing better. Yes, he's irritating. But he's alwo the unwelcome friend who comes uninvited and changes my view.

And when he leaves, I'm too busy to know I miss him.

Amy Wadsworth's novel, Shadow of Doubt, is available at LDS bookstores and online booksellers everywhere!