Is writers block real?

[nofacedrawer]

If the "block" is too heavy and it falls on you, you might die

[Lensing]

I don´t believe in waiting for motivation or writers block or finding your style
and it´s all in the same category for me

[Glofernwolfe]

Yes! I get a writers block everytime I speed through three chapters and my brain juice gets over. I learnt to get over it by doing art concepts for my novels. As I draw the fine details on my characters or the environment I get ideas and that inspires me to write again.

[Lensing]

That sounds like normal exhaustion to me

[cherrystark]

I agree with @darthmongoose. I think things like writer's block and imposter's syndrome are more the result of you being too overwhelmed by a project to think clearly. With that being said, with my autism, I get something that I call "muddy brain", which means that I can't find a clear thought in my head about X topic. Usually, when my brain goes muddy, it's a sign to me that I need a break or to change gears. While I might not be able to focus on Project A, I can usually focus on Project B just fine.

I think as writers, we do tend to bite off more than we can chew and try to live up to the reputations of classic writers. I call this the "writer's stereotype". But no one talks about the fact that while he might be scribbling down notes for his "Great American Novel", he was living with his parents or in-laws, so he didn't have any financial responsibilities to meet and his wife/mother/sister was working as his private secretary typing/transcribing his notes, editing his manuscript, and fighting to get it published. So likely, you are judging yourself against an artist who had an unpaid team to help them out. So if you aren't taking care of yourself, you're going to get "stuck" and shut down.

[pixxiepinks]

I think it depends on how you define "Writer's Block" to being with. If it's just having trouble writing your story, then I would say 100% yes, that is a thing.

But, as many other writers here commented, "writer's block" is a symptom of a larger problem, stress, burnout, or imposter syndrome (sometimes a nasty combination of all of them). Lots of things can lead to having "Writer's Block", and you need to treat the root cause first before you can rid yourself of the visible symptoms.

[Kuma]

Writer's Block is as real as you let it be. I've been writing professionally for over 10 years and I never experienced "Writer's block". Is more of an excuse writers use, rather than an actual thing. It had been mythologized to the point that many think that you aren't a writer if you don't have writer's block.

You can be tired or burnt out, but Writer's Block is bullshit.

[AmysGames]

To me, writer's block very specifically refers to when you're struggling to continue writing because you're not sure how to follow up on what you've written in a way that makes sense, which is a very real thing that has happened to me many times. I guess motivation must play a part in it though, because the more invested I am in a story, the more likely I am to try and problem solve around those issues.

[panpanwuvmgau]

I've met writers who have claimed to have experienced "writer's block" so I can't say that it's not real. I've also experienced something similar many times in the past and it's a real, frustrating and dreadful experience for me.

You want to write or continue a story but when you prepare yourself to write on an empty page, you just end up staring blankly at it. You're lucky if you can at least type something but more often than not, you'll just end up deleting everything because what you wrote doesn't feel right: it's crap, it's not enough, it's not working, nothing is working.

And I guess an experience like this can be difficult to comprehend especially for those who haven't gone through it yet, or those who easily found a way out of it. At least from my experience, "writer's block" isn't exactly the same for everyone every time it happens.

There's a list of possible causes for "writer's block" and there's plenty of resources online that talks about this in detail. At least for me, my mental and emotional state is usually tied to my motivation or inspiration to write.

is really just hesitation and fear of a story not being good enough

While this may be taken as one possible cause for writer's block, it's important to note that such fear isn't something we should simply downplay or call as an excuse. It's not just a concept. It's a real problem that even psychologists acknowledge. It can be a debilitating condition especially for passionate writers.

It can even be a sign of underlying mental health conditions such as clinical anxiety. And for writers who are unable to properly cope or manage their "writer's block", the frustration of being trapped in the block can lead to clinical depression.

[BoomerZ]

To add to @darthmongoose, most writer block I see is a lack of planning. Not knowing where to go in your story means you didn't think it through. Outline and know where you are going. Another thing, words are cheap. Put them to paper. It's like doodling for an artist. My scripts have multiple passes on them. Whole sentences get erased or added on. Nothing is sacred. Steven King in some interview said just sit down and pound keys and see what comes of it.

Finally, I can't stress enough how you need something to do that you can daydream while doing. Like mow the lawn, dumb job, anything. Something that forces you to find a way to pass the time. This will make you daydream and think of scenes you can put in your book. Watching TV or internet is being entertained and doesn't allow you to daydream. Even something as easy as taking a long walk (at least 30 minutes to an hour). It forces your mind to entertain you.

[abigaillmartin]

This is accurate actually. Thank you for the visual aid!

Also I believe that writers block is real and I get it because either I’m fatigued by a story or I’m not satisfied with what is happening or I come up with many things and they don’t work. It can be many many things.

[abigaillmartin]

Yeah I just do the dishes or take a walk, give time for myself, talk to a friend, go to the park. Find time for yourself and that’s how I cure writer’s block. It’s okay to take a break.

[RedLenai]

I won't know if it's real but as an artist I can tell that artblock is not

What there is, is a lack of something.
It can be motivation, skill, conflict resolution, creativity, idea, discipline, constancy, perseverance, patience, resources, materials, ability, focus, exhaustation, burnout, monotonous routine, etc.

I believe people tend to call "writer/art-block" to any of the reasons above, but they haven't figured out what is or what combination of things are the reasons as to why they cannot draw. Giving a name to something or a specific meaning has always been part of the human nature as a way to self-reassure ourselves, for example... we couldn't explain in the past natural phenomena so we created myths to reassure the people, some remain ignorant and others decide to search for the actual cause of it.

I believe art/writer-block is the same, some people decide to stick to the word and just hope for that thing to pass instead of being proactive and searching for the actual cause. There is why some people no longer or never experienced art/writer block, and others fall constantly onto it.

[Mallory]

Yeah, I think Artist's/Writer's block is kind of in the same category as an "umbrella disorder" in medicine, when the go "well these symptoms can be caused by any number of causes but we don't know/can't tell which one, so here's a label for you to hang on to". As you gain more experience as a creator, you begin to see the different causes and are able to address them accordingly. Like... Burnout? Burnout means stop and take a break. Stagnation and complacency? Push yourself to try new things. Fear of failure? Ignore it and keep doing the thing. Over time you get to a point where baring real medical problems, you can address the cause and cure the symptom and maintain your creative productivity.

I do think that for most new creators though, the fear of failure is usually the most frequent cause.

[vapidink]

Writer's block is very real, but it's just what we call it when there's something keeping us from writing. It can be that we've lost passion for the story, or maybe it's not going in the direction we want it to. Other times it comes from the stress of everyday life or particularly low points we go through, like loss and depression, that keep our mind too muddled. It can come from an amalgamation of all these things and more. Writer's block just means there is something mentally blocking us from coming up with a satisfying way to continue our work and because it can take some time to pinpoint what's causing it, it can also take some work to get through it.

It's not uncommon, or really strange. It doesn't make one better or worse because they suffer through it, it's just a pretty common issue we face as creators. I've gone through it several times, mostly because of depression, the story veering off, and burnout. In those cases I just took a break, worked on other things, and then came back to the story with a fresh mind.

I have noticed though, it's a lot more common for me now, as I write with a larger audience on another site, than it was when I was just half-assing some fanfics as a middle schooler, lol. The pressure of expectations that have to be met, or goals we want to reach can contribute as well.

[TheLemmaLlama]

There's "I want to write but I genuinely have no idea what to put on the page", which is different from "I do know what I want to write, but it feels dumb and I feel dumb writing it down". People feeling like the latter may act like the former because they're too embarrassed to talk about their dumb-feeling ideas, but they are distinct issues XD

I don´t believe in waiting for motivation or writers block or finding your style and it´s all in the same category for me

I mean, one way to not get writers block is to not be too attached to 'being' a writer and just not care about writing when you don't have inspiration Is that 'waiting for inspiration'? It's definitely a different mindset than actively waiting for inspiration and getting frustrated when it doesn't strike :'D

most writer block I see is a lack of planning.

But what if you have planner's block and can't think of a plan?

Finally, I can't stress enough how you need something to do that you can daydream while doing. Like mow the lawn, dumb job, anything. Something that forces you to find a way to pass the time. This will make you daydream and think of scenes you can put in your book. Watching TV or internet is being entertained and doesn't allow you to daydream. Even something as easy as taking a long walk (at least 30 minutes to an hour). It forces your mind to entertain you.

I actually find inspiration strikes pretty often when I'm watching a show or browsing the internet, and it does let me daydream provided it's pauseable.

But I get it's distinct from being in a situation where you're forced to think about stuff to keep yourself entertained; I'm not sure I'd call it daydreaming though, it's a very deliberate process for me (e.g. when I'm lying awake in 'bed', I'll deliberately focus on thinking about my stories so I'm not bored while waiting to fall asleep) whereas to me 'daydreaming' has connotations of your mind wandering off without your permission (which tends to happen in the middle of something that requires my attention because fate is vindictive :P)

Writer's block is kind of in the same category as an "umbrella disorder" in medicine

WDNOS: Writing Disorder Not Otherwise Specified

But yeah, I feel like a lot of people who say 'X is not real' is just objecting to the term used, whether it be because it's an umbrella term that doesn't actually specify anything, or for some other reason. X is always real given some definition of X; like, 'things that cause writers to struggle to write' clearly exists lmao 'X is not real' is just a particularly blunt/shock value/arguably invalidating way to put it :'D

I think a useful conception of 'writer's block' that's not covered by burnout/lack of planning/self-doubt/the other things people have mentioned here is a 'slow period'. Sure, not writing is a choice and you can technically always write at will if you chose to do so, but it's just not the case that people can consistently output meaningful/inspired writing at will, no matter how well-rested/confident/prepared you are.

There is a very real difference between someone writing stream-of-consciousness gibberish just to force themselves to write, vs someone who started off forcing themselves to write but is falling into some good momentum where they're actually thinking about what they're writing and solving problems in their story, vs someone in a fit of inspiration with ideas bursting forth from their mind that they're very excited about. There WILL be moments when you're the former person, and I think it's fair to call that 'writer's block'

[cherrystark]

There is a very real difference between someone writing stream-of-consciousness gibberish just to force themselves to write, vs someone who started off forcing themselves to write but is falling into some good momentum where they're actually thinking about what they're writing and solving problems in their story, vs someone in a fit of inspiration with ideas bursting forth from their mind that they're very excited about. There WILL be moments when you're the former person, and I think it's fair to call that 'writer's block'

I agree. There are definitely moments in my life where I physically can't write a particular story and therefore have "writer's block" but I am able to work on other stories. But then there are also ties to other arguments people have made about planning, burn out, waiting for inspiration, etc. If a story doesn't excite you enough to work on it, I wouldn't call that writer's block. I'd call that you not being excited about an idea.

[Lensing]

I don´t know what they mean with "waiting for inspiration"
I don´t wait for inspiration, creative people I worked with don´t wait for
inspiration.

I´m exhausted, distracted, tired etc too just like everyone but I don´t
call it waiting for inspiration or having a block.

Stephen King said "Inspiration comes during work, not before it".
It´s harder to work when you are thinking about something else or
you are depressed or you´d rather play xbox

[TheLemmaLlama]

I don´t know what they mean with "waiting for inspiration"

Okay, then I guess I shouldn't ask you whether or not what I do counts as 'waiting for inspiration' XD

I´m exhausted, distracted, tired etc too just like everyone but I don´t
call it waiting for inspiration or having a block.

(hey now, I'm not exhausted or tired, and I'm only sometimes distracted :P)

As I mentioned, there does exist some notion of a block that has nothing to do with being exhausted, distracted or tired ^^;

[ueonts]

I agree. The only thing that is difficult is when I am planning. I almost get writers block when I plan anything, even like schedules and stuff.