Comments on: Is Writer’s Block Like Plumber’s Block? Quotes to Inspire Writers

By: Anne

Anne — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:29:40 +0000

Deb, I can’t, of course, speak for any other writer, but I have watched and coached a few.

The only times I”m tempted to claim writer’s block is when I don’t want to write… which is procrastination for me anyway.

I’m sure I’ve observed the same thing in at least a few others.

By: Deb Ng

Deb Ng — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:07:03 +0000

I sometimes wonder if writer's block is an excuse for procrastination. .-= Deb Ng´s last blog ..5 Tips for Giving Your Writing More Cowbell =-.

By: Jamwes

Jamwes — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 02:27:22 +0000

I agree oh so much. Just put the peddle to the metal and keep on trucking. Sooner or later something decent will work its way out. .-= Jamwes´s last blog ..Peacekeeper? =-.

By: Tracey

Tracey — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 16:20:03 +0000

Wilde’s comment is clever, witty and untrue. Writer’s block exists. You can run out of inspiration; the style or nature of the work may be beyond your skills or capabilities at the time; you can be overwhelmed by health-related or financial disasters in real life that drain all your energy away and leave you nothing to write with.

It is absurd to say “no one talks about plumber’s block.” A plumber does not require inspiration (or even a a good idea for a story) to do his or her job; he/she uses other tools. But if he/she didn’t have an essential tool he needed to work, he’d/she’d have the same problem as a writer with writer’s block. And the other causes–such as not being able work due to crises in his/her life, or not having the skill or technique yet to do a difficult or complex job in one’s chosen field–are not exclusively the problems of writers.

If you don’t have the tools to do a particular job, the strength, health, time and/or energy to do a particular job, or the skill and/or technique to do a job, you may well end up stuck–either at the beginning of the job or in the middle of it–and unable to progress one inch. What profession you’re in doesn’t affect any of the above.