Writer’s Block – Is It Real?

Writer's Block Is It Real

I read something recently that said that writer’s block isn’t real.

Unfortunately for those people who think it isn’t, it would seem that neurology says that it is. Yes, there can be multiple causes of what is broadly called writer’s block, but there seems to be a neurological basis for why writers stop writing.

Right now I’m going through a bit of a bust cycle in writing. Doesn’t mean I’m not inspired. It just means that the ideas are staying in my head right now. Part of it is the stress factor that they mention. My creative drive is subsumed by other, more stressful, things in my brain (and my life) right now.

Once things settle down, I’m confident that my creative drive will return. I’m actively working on getting myself out of this stressful period. The other part of it is that I’m just pressed for time with all the non-stressful things happening. Life is busy, and while that is good in many senses, I’d like to have some downtime to myself.

Coffee and Book

So, I’d have to say that writer’s block is very real. The simplest way to put it is that our brains, even if it’s not writing, when stressed out, will put creative drive as not as important as other things. Our most basic drive is to live. Everything else is secondary. I could get into things like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, but no one has time for that.
Plus there are plenty of resources out there about it and other psychological theories. While psychology is one of the things that I’m passionate about, it’s not something I’m feeling appropriate to go on about in this particular post. Some other time, maybe. But not today.