May 1st is Mother Goose Day—and although children may have been the original audience for these nursery rhymes, there’s wisdom to be found in these verses for adults too! Here’s a list of lessons that we, as writers, can learn from that very special “author,” Mother Goose.
1. Don’t ever compare yourself to other writers.
Dame Trot and her cat
Led a peaceable life,
When they were not troubled
With other folks’ strife.
2. Always be polite—especially when meeting or corresponding with literary agents and editors.
One misty moisty morning
When cloudy was the weather,
I chanced to meet an old man,
Clothed in all leather.
He began to compliment
And I began to grin.
How do you do? And how do you do?
And how do you do again?
3. Don’t be discouraged by writer’s block; before you know it, inspiration will return!
Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,
And can’t tell where to find them;
Leave them alone, and they’ll come home,
And bring their tails behind them.
4. Overcome obstacles to writing success by taking action.
Jack be nimble,
And Jack be quick;
And Jack jump over
The candlestick.
5. Write something every day!
Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November;
February has twenty-eight alone,
All the rest have thirty-one,
Excepting leap year, that’s the time
When February’s days are twenty-nine.
6. You never know who will enjoy your work.
Hey! diddle, diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
QUESTION: Do you have a favorite Mother Goose rhyme?
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