Purposeful Prose Advice Column: Blocked Out of Writing

Dear Purposeful Prose, 

I’ve tried all of the tricks, and now I’m here. I feel like I’ve done all of the strategies to prevent writer’s block. I get my outline in front of me, and I know exactly what I want to write about, but the blank page stays blank. Every time I write a sentence, I see a reason to delete it again. It makes me want to avoid writing. Then, I avoid it, and I feel guilty about it again. It makes me feel awful, and I’m doubting myself to no end. I’m not sure what to do at this point because [...] I don’t feel supported in my writing journey anymore. It’s hard to connect with genuine people about this. What do I do?

Some information in this letter has been omitted to protect the identity of the writer. All necessary content and questions have remained. 

I believe you when you say you’ve tried all the strategies you’ve found. The reason why those strategies exist is because writer’s blocks, which I refer to as simply “blocks”, are widely recognized shared experiences. It can feel like nothing, an excuse to procrastinate, a mark on a radar. 

Then again, it can feel like imposter syndrome. It can feel like you’ve lost a piece of yourself because you’re disengaging with the work that you’ve devoted yourself to. However you might be feeling about your writer’s block right now, you aren’t wrong, and there’s nothing wrong with that. 

I can sit with you and give you strategies like reading out loud, listening in to conversations happening around you, being active in your search for inspiration in anything, completing short exercises that are unrelated to your current writing process to build momentum. All of these strategies can help as they’ve helped others in the past. 

Your letter called to mind an essay in a book I keep on my shelf, and I turned to it today. The book is called When a Writer Can’t Write, and the essay is “The Essential Delay: When Writer’s Block Isn’t” by Donald M. Murray. While I believe that what Murray describes is a form of writer’s block, he differentiates the experience by calling it an essential delay. 

A professional writer, as he puts it, needs to experience some amount of delay before they are fully prepared to write. Before writing, according to Murray, one must have information, insight, order, need, and voice. Paulette Alden describes this and the finer points of the article in greater detail if you’re interested.

For your purposes, I’d like to bring out this brief excerpt from the “Insight” section:

“It is important, however, for the writer seeking insight not to expect precision. Exactness comes after the final draft, after revision and revision, reading and rereading, editing and re-editing. Before the first draft the writer is seeking possibility. As Donald Bathelme says, ‘At best there is a slender intuition, not much greater than an itch.’”

Many writers, especially those who have extensive bodies of published material, expect a great deal from themselves. They might hold an internal expectation to be immaculately articulate at every stage of their composition and in every composition. A message to a loved one or post online suddenly goes through as many drafts and phases of editing as a book would. When they speak, they sometimes feel self-conscious about the words they use, and if they don't word something correctly, there’s a form of frustration that’s difficult to understand outside of the writing space. 

This feeling can intensify when they’re face to face with their own book, even and especially if they’ve been writing for a long time. I don’t know if these feelings and experiences have come up for you, but this is a common cause of unintended or unwanted delays in writing. 

When it comes time for you to write, even when you feel you have everything you need to lay down a first draft, remember that no one can be expected to be articulate all the time. You are allowed to use your writing time and space to seek possibility instead of perfection. You are a writer, and every story that you’ve ever loved has had its first draft. 

I do agree that people should be conscious of how they present themselves to the world, particularly when their position demands credibility. There is some reasonable call for quality and readability. If you already have an attention to presentation, you’re aware of this. My point is that when your experience of writing or trying to write inhibits the joy you feel in it, the same attention that purports to guide you can become a detractor instead. 

This is to say, if you expect too much precision in yourself, you’ll deny yourself possibilities.

I’m not going to sit here and demand you feel a certain way or think a certain way in order to write. Blocks are frustrating. Murray’s tools might add something to your arsenal, and if they do, that’s great. I’ve written about blocks as well. 

To address the last part of your message, I understand it can be difficult to find genuine peer support in writing. Even though social media has rallied around writers, that doesn’t mean it’s easy to find a community that fits you. When it comes to soliciting critiques, if that’s what you feel you need, I’ve heard good things about Scribophile, but I haven’t tried it myself. Let me know what you think!

If you’re looking for more in-person support, my recommendation would be to go to your local library. A librarian might know about some local events or groups. Otherwise, they might have some references for you!

In case you need a little boost right now, I’m so glad you came to visit me today. I’m honored to have been the person you’ve directed your question to. I know your writing journey has felt rocky, but I know it hasn’t ended with a blank page. You took the time to write to me, a little bit of writing that I hope, soon, will turn into a lot more. 

You are full of so much possibility, and I’m excited to read you when the time comes.

If you have a writing or editing-focused question, I would be more than happy to dedicate a post to you. Contact us with any questions you might have or to schedule a free consultation with yours truly!

All submissions will remain anonymous unless you explicitly request for me to include your name.