We’ve all been there. You sit at your computer or with your notebook and stare at the blank page. Before you sat down, you had ideas, inspiration. As soon as you handled the mouse or pen, the thoughts evaporated, and the desire to work left. Out of frustration, you decide to take a break to grab a snack. That short break turns into a week, a month, a year.
It can be frustrating when the ideas leave you, when you suddenly lose interest in something that you were keen to work on just before. The words are in your brain, but you just can’t write them.
You are not alone.
There have been many books, studies, articles, and workshops on the subject of writer’s block, which some refer to as a composition dysfunction. Certainly, our relationship with the act of writing can feel like a dysfunctional one.
Whether it is anxiety or boredom or a lack of vocabulary, the page is blank.
Writer’s Block Defined
In his book “Writer’s Block: The Cognitive Dimension,” Mike Rose defines writer’s block as “an inability to begin or continue writing for reasons other than a lack of basic skill or commitment.” The writer might feel frustration or anxiety during this composition dysfunction.
It is not that you are not capable, and it is not that you are lazy. There are real reasons why this interruption in your process happens.
Neuroscientist Alice Flaherty in “The Midnight Disease” acknowledges that writer’s block can appear in many forms for many reasons, but blocked writers share two traits: They do not write even though they can, and they suffer as a result.
By suffering we mean that the frustration, guilt, regret, and ineptitude we feel when we are not producing the work that is in our heads.
Writer’s block is different than periods of not writing, which occurs when we are taking deliberate breaks. Flaherty calls this fallow time when ideas ferment.
Causes of Writer’s Block
Each writer is unique, so the causes of writer’s block differ for each person. It likely is not limited to one factor but several.
Causes might include:
- Can’t decide in which direction to take your work
- Distractions and interruptions
- Fear of failure
- Lack of inspiration
- Low confidence in your ability to express your ideas
- Perfectionism
You would think if you felt inspired, boosted your confidence, had a plan, accepted mistakes, believed in yourself, and ignored the laundry, you could write that play or novel. It doesn’t seem to work that way.
Researchers have attributed writer’s block to perfectionism, stress, fear of criticism, and procrastination, or a combination of all of them, write Sarah J. Ahmed and C. Dominik Güss in Creativity Research Journal.
Ahmed and Güss surveyed writers and determined the most common causes of this bottleneck.
- Physiological causes like life stress and depression
- Motivational reasons like fear of judgement and a general decrease in internal motivation
- Cognitive factors during the writing process like perfectionism
- Behaviors that get in their way like being too busy or procrastinating
The researchers also looked at when writer’s block occurred during the writing process. Does it happen when you are thinking of ideas or trying to decide what to write next? When you sit down in front of a blank screen, you suddenly have decisions to make. What words should you choose? Which character speaks first? Where are they? So many decisions! The research suggests that writer’s block interferes with convergent thinking and problem solving more than creative thinking. Perhaps one solution to this is planning ahead more or making detailed outlines.
Overstimulation Works Against You
Research also suggests that extreme emotion causes creative output to decrease because the person is overstimulated, which leads to a lack of focus.
Dante experienced this, as he wrote in The New Life: “It seemed to me that I had taken to myself a theme which was much too lofty, so that I dared not begin; and I remained during several days in the desire of speaking, and the fear of beginning.”
Flaherty likens this phenomenon to stage fright. If an actor’s motivation is too strong in a complex task, the adrenaline can cause them to freeze. So, if you are super excited about your idea and are riding an emotional high, perhaps that is not the best time to sit down and try to write it. You want to feel positive about it but not overexcited.
Another way to think about it is working memory overload. A study in the Journal of Memory and Language showed that interruptions while subjects were taking in new information affected the their memory. When we sit down to write, we often have been composing things before we engage in the act of writing. It all seems so clear and all we need to do is write it down. Here is the rub. Now we have to access this information somewhere in the cloud of our brains. The act of trying to find it, organize it, then export it to the computer creates a cognitive load before we are able to record a coherent sentence. This can cause thoughts to become jumbled, and your brain freezes.
Resistance is Real
Even with external pressures, there is always something going on internally that prevents us from putting coherent words to paper. That thing is Resistance with a capital “R.”
In “The War of Art,” Steven Pressmen writes, “Every sun casts a shadow, and genius’s shadow is Resistance.” It is a formidable opponent that is harder to kick than an addiction. Procrastination is one form it takes. A professional writer does not accept defeat.
Part of that resistance is avoidance, which can take different forms. In “An Investigation of Avoidance Behaviour in Writing,” Noor Hanim Rahmat and Haeza Haron discuss these reasons. While the article explores an educational setting, I believe they can apply to our creative life.
- Writer’s block is fear-based rather than idea-based. It’s not that the writer has nothing to write about but that they fear being overwhelmed. It is emotional or cognitive overload.
- The writer experiences a mental or physical stress reaction while writing. This includes drawing a blank or the words’ becoming jumbled. This can be classified as somatic avoidance. It may be that you are trying to hold onto the words, the tone, intention, etc., until your brain overloads.
- Avoidance of cognitive demand. Perhaps you are in the mood to write, so you endeavor to do it, but the desire disappears. At this moment, the creation shifts from imagination to cognitive demand, which you suddenly want to resist.
- Substitution avoidance. You make the time to work on your craft, but the need to do dishes or laundry becomes critical in your mind. Performing those substitute tasks are more comfortable to you than writing.
The key is to prevent overload, so the brain doesn’t cow to resistance and start enacting avoidance tactics.
There is much more going on internally than simple procrastination.
Combating Writer’s Block
Since the cause of writer’s block can be different for each person and might include more than one factor, solutions also vary.
In the Ahmed and Guss survey, writers listed their strategies for overcoming writer’s block and rank them by effectiveness. Some of these strategies include:
- Change location
- Discuss ideas with others
- Eat or drink
- Exercise
- Keep writing
- Meditate
- Read a book or watch a movie
- Research
- Revise another work
- Take a break from writing
- Work on a different writing project
Taking a break was the most common strategy.
My own strategy is to keep writing, no matter how bad I think the words are, or work on something else to keep practicing the act of creation. For this, I steal a principle from the theatre.
During the play rehearsal process, a director gives actors actions to perform when they say certain lines. The physical movement is repeated many times until it becomes muscle memory. It also becomes connected to the line. When an actor steps onstage for the performance, they don’t have to consciously remember the line because it is linked to the movement. The actor performs the action and the lines in the moment. It is this way with the physical act of writing. If it is a habit, and you don’t think about the blank screen in front of you, the words will appear.
Other suggestions from various sources include:
- Separate the idea from the expression. You want to capture the idea or the thought before you express it perfectly. Break the task down by writing it as fragments or short sentences first then crafting it later. You could also try dictating your thoughts as we speak faster than we write. This way you are not trying to remember and craft ideas as the same time. In other words, dump the pieces of the puzzle on the table first, and then organize them and put it together.
- Quit while you’re ahead. Hemingway wrote, “Always stop while you are going good and don’t think about it or worry about it until you start to write the next day. That way your subconscious will work on it all the time. But if you think about it consciously or worry about it you will kill it and your brain will be tired before you start.”
- Write first by hand. A study that appeared in Frontiers in Psychology showed that writing by hand activates more brain regions than typing. When people write by hand, there is more nerve activity in the parts of the brain that deal with memory and interpretation.
- Consult with a professional. If what you’re experiencing feels more serious. Neuroscientist Flaherty points out that anxiety and depression can be contributors to writer’s block, and these are conditions that might be helped by talking to a therapist or taking medication. Reach out to a professional about your concerns.
- Love writing. Pressman reminds us that as professional writers, we must love what we do. Why spend so much time on something you hate?
- Confront your self-sabotage. Professional writers arm themselves with patience. They know the job will take longer than expected and plays the long game. Recognize that Resistance is ingenious, so you must be prepared to fight it.
Pressman writes, “When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us.”
Remember that.
Looking for inspiration?
Discover the spark that ignites a great story with Line One. This workbook is your creative companion, featuring 100 reimagined first lines, drawn from plays spanning ancient times to the early 20th century. This collection transforms the art of the opening line into a dynamic tool for writers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is writer’s block?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, writer’s block is “a psychological inhibition preventing a writer from proceeding on a piece.” A writer might want to write, but something interrupts the process.
What causes writer’s block?
Writer’s block can have several causes, including stress, fear of failure, perfectionism, low confidence, lack of motivation, too many distractions, or not knowing what direction to take next. Sometimes it happens because the brain is trying to hold too many pieces at once: the idea, the tone, the structure, the exact wording, and the fear of getting it wrong.
Is writer’s block just procrastination?
Not always. Procrastination can be part of writer’s block, but the two are not the same. Sometimes avoidance happens because writing suddenly feels overwhelming. The writer may want to work, but the shift from imagining the piece to actually composing it creates pressure or fear.
How do you overcome writer’s block?
Start by lowering the pressure. Write fragments, notes, bad sentences, or a messy version of the idea before trying to shape it. You can also change locations, take a short break, exercise, research, talk through the idea, revise something else, or work on a different project.
What are good writing time habits?
Good writing habits make the act of writing less dramatic. Try writing at the same time of day, keeping your materials ready, stopping while you still know what comes next, and beginning each session with a small task. Even five or ten minutes can help train the brain to associate sitting down with making words not panicking over the blank page.
How can you reward yourself for writing?
Use small rewards that do not interrupt the writing habit. For example, after writing for 20 minutes, you might make coffee, take a walk, read a chapter, or work in the garden. The reward should reinforce the act of writing, not become a way to avoid it.
References
- Ahmed, S. J., & Güss, C. D. (2022). An Analysis of Writer’s Block: Causes and Solutions. Creativity Research Journal, 34(3), 339–354. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2022.2031436
- Alighieri, D. The New Life. Ellis & Elvey. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/41085/41085-h/41085-h.htm
- Interview: Alice Flaherty discusses her book “The Midnight Disease”. (2004, January 29). Morning Edition. National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/2004/01/29/1623749/the-midnight-disease-compulsive-writing
- Langerock, N., Oberauer, K., Throm, E., Vergauwe, E. (2025, February). The cognitive load effect in working memory: Refreshing the empirical landscape, removing outdated explanations. Journal of Memory and Language. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749596X24000615
- Phillips, L.W. (1984). Ernest Hemingway on Writing. Simon & Schuster LLC.
- Pressfield, S. (2002). The War of Art. Rugged Land LLC.
- Rahmat, N.H., Haron, H. (2021, March 25). An Investigation of Avoidance Behavior in Writing. International Journal of Education. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350784276_An_Investigation_of_Avoidance_Behaviour_in_Writing
- Rose, M. (1984). Writer’s Block: The Cognitive Dimension. Southern Illinois University Press. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED248527.pdf
- van der Weel F. R. (Ruud), van der Meer Audrey L. H. Handwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: a high-density EEG study with implications for the classroom. Frontiers in Psychology 14-2024. DOI=10.3389/psyg.2023.1219945
Sandra Hosking | Author, Playwright, Poet, Photographer 
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