Understanding Writing Blocks

by Keith Hjortshoj

Why do capable students and scholars fail to complete writing projects? What are "writing blocks," and how can writers overcome them? Why are writing blocks more common for advanced and experienced writers who are not supposed to need help? And why are they more common in the humanities than in the sciences? Keith Hjortshoj answers these and other questions in Understanding Writing Blocks . This book demystifies the causes of writing blocks, which are often ignored, misunderstood, or attributed to obscure psychological disorders. Hjortshoj examines blocks instead as real writing problems arising from specific misconceptions, writing behaviors, and rhetorical factors present at different stages of the writing process. In a lively and informative style, he defines the nature of writing blocks, examines their causes, and offers advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and professional writers the diagnostic tools and strategies necessary for getting their work done. Although
appropriate for any writing course, Understanding Writing Blocks targets advanced composition students and graduate writers who are most likely to encounter immobilizing obstacles, and whose experience supports the author's assertion that a writing block is usually "an affliction of the good writer." Hjortshoj draws his material and evidence from extensive research, interviews, and consultations with blocked writers from his twenty-five years of teaching. Especially helpful to students working on dissertations and other complex projects, Understanding Writing Blocks illuminates the factors that undermine writing ability in a wide range of endeavors.

Genres: Writing

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 22, 2001

Reviews

[Keely Hyslop · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a remarkably thorough exploration of the topic of writer's block that draws on psychology research, composition theory, and material from interviews and journals discussing writers' composing processes. The book discusses a variety of techniques to explore to reduce one's own writer's block as well as advice for teachers seeking to provide advice to less experienced writers in combating writing block. All in all a very useful little book written in an approachable, conversational style.

[Thi T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, I did read this during a period where I was paralyzed with revising my dissertation proposal, funny that you asked. Like other reviewers mentioned, this book does not give you specific activities or exercises to get over your writer’s block. It is still tremendously useful to read about the diverse cases and writer strategies described in this book. Past the halfway point, at about page 100, one comes across the conclusion that writing a bit day by day is the most efficient way to write. Don't fret! This advice does not sting in the insensitive way that an impersonal, disaffected bullet point powerpoint from your university’s writing center does, or a well-intentioned friend who tells you to just sit down and write. All of the context given before this point shows how this can really be done.

This book was written in 2001, and it seems to predate a lot of popular advice about writing that is now available in university writing centers. The author asks at one point, "What is a dissertation, exactly?" and provides the only answer I have ever found satisfactory. A new way of thinking about the dissertation actually made me feel comfortable to start writing again (specifically, with composing text). Moving forward, the author suggested that departments that are openly regimented dissertation writing-minded can help prevent writing obstacles/blocks in graduate students. Nearly 20 years later, I don't find this to be true. The litany of bad advice continues, despite progress in structural support and checkpoints of thesis/dissertation progress. I have found that you can satisfy department requirements for frequent committee meetings and research presentations and still be very stuck in the writing process without much support. For that, I would especially recommend this book to graduate students.

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a slim volume but worth reading. Because it's published in 2001, nothing he's saying about the writing process is very new--just standard comp 1 textbook writing is recursive and etc. What I do think is valuable is insight into why doctoral students and faculty often falter in their efforts to produce dissertations, books, and publishable articles (especially in the humanities). Everything Hrjortshoj has to say about the lack of support and direction for humanities doctoral students was true in my personal experience. He's also got some clear solutions to prevent doctoral students from being paralyzed and stalling out on finishing their dissertations; I think this would be very useful for anyone who's directing graduate work (along with admin like chairs and deans) to read.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hjortshoj provides readers with a concise accounting of all types of writing blocks that might emerge for all types of writers. Perhaps most compelling, he refuses to presume that writers of fiction and non-fiction, nor undergraduate and graduate writers are likely to run up against the same type of "blocks" when writing, and he usefully delineates the reasons why. This said, the book is fairly scant on practical advice to combat blocks, instead suggesting writers engage in the proper amount to self-reflection to identify what's preventing their progress before attempting to move on from there. While this advice is certainly smart, it doesn't necessarily translate into action quite as easily as other advice might.