Abstract
Writer’s block is an insidious and pandemic condition. Past recommendations on its diagnosis and treatment approach the problem as if it were one single disease with one single therapy. However careful study into its presentation and symptoms reveal that this should actually be treated as a group of afflictions, inter-related but highly individualized. It also follows that upon correct diagnosis, individualized treatment courses are required for successful outcomes.
(Authors’ Note: The term “writer’s block” will be used throughout, though “creative block” may be more appropriate. Those practising in other art forms may find it useful to adapt the recommendations in this study accordingly.)
Classification and Treatment of Writer’s Block
Writer’s block comes in many forms. Unfortunately, the current treatment methods of the day do not recognize this, and instead try to give a blanket treatment. Not surprisingly, the success rates of these treatments are spotty at best.
We have developed a classification system of writer’s block here, along with recommended treatments.
Blank Page Syndrome (pageis blanketum)
The classic presentation of “writer’s block”. Symptoms include:
- Indecision
- Fear of writing
- Inability to generate ideas
- Obsessive counting of cars passing in the street
- Sore wrists and forearms due to excessive impact with punching bag
Recommended Treatment: Patient should be encouraged to simply start writing anything mundane from grocery lists to a description of the cars passing by. In most cases, the simple act of writing will trigger an auto-response, whereby the patient will momentarily forget the fear and indecision thus unlocking the creative portion of the brain. Soon ideas should come tumbling to the page.
In extreme cases, patients should be given permission to call it a day, get a quart of ice cream, bottle of wine, or case of beer (depending on their predilections), and watch reruns of Cheers.
Stunted Start (writerus hiccupi)
Slightly different than Blank Page Syndrome, patients with Stunted Start have ideas in their head and know what they want to write, but are indecisive on how to approach the subject matter. Generally presents itself when the topic matter is fixed i.e. an assigned story, article, or web page. Symptoms include:
- Indecision
- Frustration with inability to “state the obvious”
- Confusion
- Irritability, even with the cat
Recommended Treatment: Patients should be encouraged to write several different opening paragraphs in succession, approaching the subject matter in slightly different ways each time. Eventually, the “natural” course of the writing should present itself through this exercise. However in extreme cases, the writer may find it beneficial to read over all the openings to determine the best one. It may also be helpful in these extreme cases to step away for a while and take a walk, do the dishes, or apologize to the cat, before returning to the desk.
Confused Subject Matter Syndrome (dunnoium whatiamwritingus)
Patients with Confused Subject Matter Syndrome often try to write an article or related piece without fully understanding the topic. This may be because of tight deadlines, an overloaded schedule, or just plain looking for a shortcut. The resulting writer’s block is more from gaps in knowledge than anything else. Symptoms include:
- Indecision
- Frantic writing
- “Cloud Piling”
- Illogical conclusions
- Long, rambling sentences that seem to be trying to get to the point but at the end of which you realize that the writer is actually and simply just getting paid by the word
Recommended Treatment: Patients should be encouraged to research their topic matter some more. In lucky circumstances, the writer may have discovered what information he or she still needs to learn, so outlining that information before further research should be fostered.
Trying to Remember that Great Idea You Had Just Before You Drifted Off to Sleep Last Night (sandmani thievium)
Although not a writer’s block in the strictest sense, it does present with similar symptoms and can often be cured with related treatments. Symptoms include:
- Frustration
- Repeated slapping upside the head to”jog” the memory
- Silent cursing of the happy squirrels outside
- Excessively loud cursing of the happy squirrels outside
Recommended Treatment: Patients should be encouraged to stop thinking about it, as this sometimes triggers the memory to suddenly jump back into the brain unbidden. However prevention is the best cure: patients should be encouraged to keep a bedside notebook or digital recorder so that ideas can be captured at these crucial moments.
Searching for the Right Word (tipus tongium)
This too is a frustrating affliction. The writer knows what word he or she wants to use, and can “feel” the word, but cannot remember what it is. Symptoms include:
- Frustration
- Excessive pounding on the keyboard
- Excessive pounding of the keyboard on the head
- Shouting at the passing cars outside
- Pleading with the cat for the answer
Recommended Treatment: Patients should be encouraged to think of a similar word and look up the synonym. Sometimes the thesaurus feature in Word is sufficient, but often an online thesaurus will work better. Alternatively, the writer can Google the synonym or a word that might lead to the word being searched. For example, if the patient has forgotten the word “silo”, he or she could Google “barn” or “granary” or “Old MacDonald”.
Chronic Writing Fatigue Syndrome (wellus driedupium)
This is common in larger projects or in cases where the writer has many projects on the go. After a successive number of hours of writing, the patient will slowly become more and more ineffective. Symptoms include:
- Brain fog
- Brain cramp
- Blurred vision
- Caffeine imbalance (either too much leading to jitters, or not enough leading to an amplification of the brain fog and other symptoms)
- Periods of inactivity for seconds or even minutes where the writer sits motionless, fingers hovering over the keyboard, staring hopelessly at the screen
- Tiredness
Recommended Treatment: Sometimes it helps to switch projects, but often there is no clear way for the writer to “push through” this type of writer’s block. There is a point where he or she should either get away for several hours or simply go to sleep. The writer should be reminded that yes, deadlines are important, but they are useless if you cannot generate your best work. A letter of apology ahead of the blown deadline and a good night’s sleep should remedy the situation with no lingering after-effects.
Background Noise Distraction Syndrome (lyric interruptus)
In this affliction, patients will either subconsciously plagiarize song lyrics or ideas heard in the background from a TV or stereo, or purposefully stick them in while searching for other things to write (often in conjunction with other types of writer’s block). Symptoms include:
- Frustration
- Temptation
- So bad it makes them shake and cough
- Just like the old man in that book by Nabokov
Recommended Treatment: Turn off the damned radio.
Deadline Stress Syndrome (writerus panicus)
This often occurs when (a) the writer accepts a project with a tight turnaround, (b) the writer accepts too many projects, and deadlines start looming or (c) the writer forgot about the project until the last moment or — worse — when the client called to “check the status”. Symptoms include:
- Panic
- Fast, sloppy writing
- Excessive clock watching
- Panic
- Increased heart rate
- Nagging urge to stop squirrels’ happy chattering with extreme prejudice
- Excessive friendliness with and/or shunning of the cat
- Panic
Recommended Treatment: Prevention is the best cure — though this is a bad time to tell the writer that. Patients should be encouraged to add extra time to their deadlines to allow for unexpected events, and/or not accept fast turnaround projects. However once in the thick of it, the writer should be encouraged not to look at the clock, to breathe slowly, and to pretend the deadline does not exist. Focus on one thing at a time — often there really is enough time to get everything done.
Also, writer should replace coffee or Coke with water as excessive amounts of caffeine with only add to the internal tension that is gnawing at your nerves.
Conclusion
Writer’s Block takes many forms. As we have seen here, it is important to determine exactly what type of writer’s block the patient has to successfully determine an effective course of treatment. By pinpointing exact causes and symptoms, we can help our writers get through these various conditions and make a full recovery.
This is an ongoing project; those who have treated or experienced other manifestations of writer’s block are encouraged to outline below in the comments section of this paper. Thank you.
~Graham
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