Writer's Block and Life Block

Writer's Block and Life Block

I don’t believe in writer’s block. I only believe in life block.

If you find that you can’t write, think about what is missing or going wrong in your life. Think about what else you are unable to do. My guess is that you will find that it’s not just your writing that is blocked.

Sure, you may be able to still do the dishes, eat food, and get the laundry done. But are you struggling to call friends? To make plans for the future? To deal with problems that other members of your family are facing?

This is life block, not writer’s block.

There’s no point on obsessing over the pain of not being able to write when there is a bunch of other pain in your life that needs to be dealt with first. Once you deal with your life block, my guess is that shortly afterward (within a month or two), your writer’s block will disappear as if it never was.

If you’re in the middle of moving, you have life block.

If you’re dealing with a family member with a mental illness, a chronic illness, or a terminal diagnosis, you have life block.

If you are in the midst of a divorce or a new marriage, you may have life block.

If you are changing jobs, or have lost a job but don’t have a new one yet, you have life block.

If you are a writer who is used to working under contract and you don’t have one, or if your sales figures are crap and you may have to start writing under a pseudonym, you have life block.

Sure, there are writers around you who continue to write even when they are dealing with these things. That doesn’t matter. They may not have life block for whatever reason. They are able to remain optimistic under the worst of circumstances. But it’s not because they’re better than you are. They just don’t have life block.