Understanding Writer’s Block

You are sitting at your computer, attempting to work on an academic writing project, but nothing is happening. Hours or even days pass by, and you’re feeling completely stuck. As the deadline approaches and the pressure builds, you seek refuge in any sort of distraction, anything to take your mind off the task at hand. Time passes, the cycle of struggle and avoidance continues, and nothing much gets done. Have you ever experienced something like this? If so, then join the club!

Writing, especially the academic variety, does not come naturally to most folks. After all, as Evans (2013) notes, no one is born a writer—writing is an ability that must be learned, and in academia, too little attention is paid to acquiring the requisite skills. As a result, writer’s block, a term used to describe symptoms such as an inability to focus, mental fogginess, lack of inspiration, and general stress (Woodward, 2018), is an unwelcome guest in the professional lives of novice and experienced authors alike. What can be done about it? Given the depth and breadth of this pernicious problem and the limited space of this column, I’ll tackle the issue in two parts. Since the first step to overcoming any problem comes through understanding, I’ll begin by looking at common definitions of writer’s block and sort out some typical causes. This discussion will set the stage in my next column for more in-depth coverage of popular solutions, of which (thankfully!) there are many. My hope is that by facing what inhibits us head-on, we can develop the requisite insight and techniques we need to navigate writer’s block and do our best work.