Learn More About Writing

Writer's Block

Writing is about control, right? Or is it about release?

Does the following example sound like you?

"Ugh! I have this paper due tomorrow, I just started it today and I can't possibly finish it on time!" or "This class is so hard! I used to get As on all my research papers in high school. I am still putting in the same amount of effort (one all-nighter to research and write the paper) but now I'm getting Cs! Why can't I get a good grade?!"

If this sounds familiar (and it probably does) don't worry. These situations are usually the product of poor time management and not writer's block.

Does this one sound like you?

"I am trying to write, and I really want to, but nothing comes out." "I feel like the creative side of my mind is dry and barren." "I just can't seem to write – it's as if a weight is paralyzing me and keeping my writing from flowing and taking shape."

These statements belong to people who are experiencing writer's block.

There are varying degrees of block. It has been said that those who don't care about writing (or what they write) can't experience a block. This is not to say that one should stop caring about writing. On the contrary, writers who are experiencing a "dry spell" must look within themselves to identify the "what" and the "how"--what is suppressing their ability to write and how they might go about overcoming it.

If you think that you are experiencing writer's block, talk to your professor or advisor about it. Seek out advice from the Writing Workshop library or staff in Rockefeller Hall and/or the various books that have been written on the subject. Two helpful resources are Writing the Australian Crawl by William Stafford and Writing Past Dark: Envy, Fear, Distraction, and Other Dilemmas in the Writer¹'s Life by Bonnie Friedman.

"I believe that the so-called 'writing block' is a product of some kind of disproportion between your standards and your performance. I can imagine a person beginning to feel that he's not able to write up to that standard he imagines the world has set for him. But to me that's surrealistic. The only standard I can rationally have is the standard I'm meeting right now. Of course I can write. Anybody can write. People might think that their product is not worthy of the person they assume they are. But it is." --William Stafford, Writing the Australian Crawl, 1978

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