Do you have writer’s block, or is something else happening?

Most writers think they’re struggling with their writing, when what they’re actually struggling with is their thinking.

It doesn’t feel like that, of course. I’m thinking just fine; I just can’t write.

Well, actually, you can write. You’ve demonstrated in the past you’re perfectly capable of turning out writing that is lyrical, inspirational, beautiful — even, on some rare magical occasions, important. So it’s not that you cannot write.

It’s that you’re currently unable to write. There’s a difference.

Most writers self-diagnose their problem and come up with a quick and easy solution: they don’t write. “I need to step away from the project,” they’ll say, or, “I just need some space.”

I’m here to tell you: Not writing has little to no curative power. Not writing underlines helplessness; it reinforces your opinion that you can’t write. How many projects have you planned to come back to, only to find that the ongoing “writer’s block” outlasted your creativity, your ideas?

The idea of writer’s block can actually detach writing from its real context. When you treat writing challenges as psychological — rather than intellectual — then you minimize the intellect you bring to bear daily on your writing.