Does Writer's Block Exist?

[Nissa]

This thread is mainly a reaction to another forums I go to on occasion. It's a writer's forum, and they're very...sensitive. It would be very difficult, on those forums, to disagree with anyone without your thread getting closed. Anyone who says anything disagreeable on someone else's thread is at risk for getting banned. There's this thread where you're supposed to post the first three sentences of your novel, and a guy got banned because he posted three sentences without it having a novel afterwards. Yep, banned permanently for one infraction, wherein he was rude to no one else.

*sigh*

One of the other weird things is that this forum has an entire section where one can discuss writer's block, but you are not allowed to discuss if writer's block actually exists. I believe that this is a move to stop people from saying that it doesn't exist, but there are plenty of ways to express said opinion politely. Granted, I never actually tried to post a thread like that, but I kinda want to, especially because they ban it.

So, do you guys think writer's block really exists? If so, what is the nature of it? Have you had it before?

I have had it exactly once. Years ago, when I was trying to write my own sequel to Starcraft, I hit a complete wall, because I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to make the hybrids defeatable. Granted, my powers of writing are stronger now, but at the time I just could not go on. I took that as a sign that it wasn't worth it, and moved on. All other situations of "block" I've ever had were just me being lazy, tired, or bored.

[ragnarok]

With regards to writers block, you have to consider the circumstances. Did you REALLY run out of ideas? Or did something in real life get in the way of your fic writing? And for that matter, did that "something" force you away from the writing for so long that by the time you were finally finished, you forgot the ideas you originally had for the fic?

In a way that's what happened to me and my fic.

[sandwich_bird]

I think what people mean when they talk about writer's block is that the next steps in their creative endeavor are not coming spontaneously. In this sense, it is real but it is also unrealistic to expect everything to magically flow out of your brain because you want to. Sooner or later you will be faced with a situation that requires you to do some research and etc. You can't always rely on sparks of creativity. In music for example, if you have a good riff but don't know how to follow it up, you'll always find your answers by going back to theory.

[KaiserStratosTygo]

Yes.

I get that nonsense frequently

[Nissa]

I think what people mean when they talk about writer's block is that the next steps in their creative endeavor are not coming spontaneously. In this sense, it is real but it is also unrealistic to expect everything to magically flow out of your brain because you want to. Sooner or later you will be faced with a situation that requires you to do some research and etc. You can't always rely on sparks of creativity. In music for example, if you have a good riff but don't know how to follow it up, you'll always find your answers by going back to theory.

Well, some people define it that way, but that's just the nature of writing. That's not really block for anyone with substantial writing experience, ie people who know better than to think the happy feelings last all the way. Needing research isn't block, because you know what you have to do and can go do it. Block is when you don't know what to do. If you think it's real, anyway.

Basically, is there any other thing that would be legitimately be defined as block.

[sandwich_bird]

Basically, is there any other thing that would be legitimately be defined as block.

I was talking about a block if you already were working on something but there can also be the case of a block before starting out on a new project. You want to start 'something' but you just don't know what to do. You don't have any ideas to explore or whatever. That can happen if the scope of your goal is too large or too abstract.

Speaking of scope too large, choice overload can create a block and happen at any stage of a project.

On the other spectrum, you could be stuck with 2 equally good options and choosing between them can be hard and lead to a block.

That's not really block for anyone with substantial writing experience

But honestly, all the above and pretty much anything I can come up with is probably solvable. Especially with experience. So if you define "doesn't exist" as being universally insurmountable then you would be right in saying that the writer's block doesn't exist. That is, as long as we speak about healthy normal human being under no fantastical scenarios

[ragnarok]

I think what people mean when they talk about writer's block is that the next steps in their creative endeavor are not coming spontaneously. In this sense, it is real but it is also unrealistic to expect everything to magically flow out of your brain because you want to. Sooner or later you will be faced with a situation that requires you to do some research and etc. You can't always rely on sparks of creativity. In music for example, if you have a good riff but don't know how to follow it up, you'll always find your answers by going back to theory.

Interesting example with music, I had some cases of just that when I played the violin....

[Nissa]

But honestly, all the above and pretty much anything I can come up with is probably solvable. Especially with experience. So if you define "doesn't exist" as being universally insurmountable then you would be right in saying that the writer's block doesn't exist. That is, as long as we speak about healthy normal human being under no fantastical scenarios

Well, do you write? There's this situation where you just...CAN'T. You don't know why. After all, the real unsolvable problems are the ones you don't know the cause of.

[sandwich_bird]

Well, do you write?

I'm writing right now I never wrote a novel but I write and have written in many different capacities. I never had a block that was universally insurmountable or without a known cause. I can't say it's impossible but it is VERY unlikely. For a universally insurmountable block to be likely, there needs to be almost 0 professional writers technically capable of always surmounting their block. In other word, if there is a master writer that can technically always surmount his blocks then it is very unlikely that a universally insurmountable block truly exist and any block would probably be solvable. With that said, I know such a professional: Stephen King. He said in one of his book that he experience "blocks" but he also explains how he surmounts them(or could surmount them) therefore he never experienced an insurmountable block. If King can always technically do it, then it is very unlikely that it exists.

[ragnarok]

I'm writing right now I never wrote a novel but I write and have written in many different capacities. I never had a block that was universally insurmountable or without a known cause. I can't say it's impossible but it is VERY unlikely. For a universally insurmountable block to be likely, there needs to be almost 0 professional writers technically capable of always surmounting their block. In other word, if there is a master writer that can technically always surmount his blocks then it is very unlikely that a universally insurmountable block truly exist and any block would probably be solvable. With that said, I know such a professional: Stephen King. He said in one of his book that he experience "blocks" but he also explains how he surmounts them(or could surmount them) therefore he never experienced an insurmountable block. If King can always technically do it, then it is very unlikely that it exists.

Shouldn't this also somewhat go with the passage of time? Because if you couldn't surmount it for the time being, that happens frequently. But if too much time goes on where you're either distracted by other things and what not, couldn't it turn into something universally insurmountable?