What’s your block?
Have you ever noticed how, when people talk about “writer’s block,” they seem to be referring to a single thing. But if you listen closely you realize they are talking about many things?
“Writer’s block” is like “the flu.” It is a catchall phrase. It is also like the flu in that the only way to get over it is to find what variety of block you actually have.
For the fun of it, I’ve put together a taxonomy of writer’s block. This is partly for fun, but you can see I’m also trying to make a point: Diagnose the block correctly and you can move faster to recovery.
A block can come at any point in writing. The most frustrating block for me is when I think I know what I want to say, and then, after I flail away for a couple of hours, I realize I really don’t. I have to accept that it’s the better part of valor to stop composing, rethink, re-outline, look for fresh words, throw out what I’ve already written, and then restart on the correct path.
Simply trying to bulldoze through writer’s block often ends up being the long way home. You have to first figure out why the block emerged to get around the barrier you’re struggling with. If you have thinker’s block, trying to overcome procrastination won’t do much to get you restarted.
