Advice from Writers about Writer’s Block

"I think writer's block is simply the dread that you are going to write something horrible. But as a writer, I believe that if you sit down at the keys long enough, sooner or later something will come out."—Roy Blount, Jr.

By Scoti Springfield Domeij

Feeling Unmotivated, Uninspired or Frozen by a Looming Deadline?

What was the most terrifying thing Ernest Hemingway encountered?

"A blank sheet of paper."

Stephen King, Mr. Fear Monger himself, confessed, "the scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better." Here are some insights from writers regarding writer's block.

William Goldman: "The easiest thing to do on earth is not write."

E. L. Doctorow: "Planning to write is not writing. Outlining—researching—talking to people about what you're doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing."

Paul Rudnick: "Writing is 90 percent procrastination: reading magazines, eating cereal out of the box, watching infomercials. It's a matter of doing everything you can to avoid writing, until it is about four in the morning and you reach the point where you have to write."

Robert Parker: "If you want to write, write it. That's the first rule."

Henriette Anne Klauser: "The best antidote to writer's block is ... to write."

Mary Heaton Vorse: "The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair."

Anna Quindlen: "People have writer's block not because they can't write, but because they despair of writing eloquently."

James Thurber: "Don't get it right, just get it written."

Mary Garden: "My block was due to two overlapping factors: laziness and lack of discipline. If you really want to write, then shut yourself in a room, close the door, and WRITE. If you don't want to write, do something else. It's as simple as that."

Barbara Kingsolver: "Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer."

J. B. Priestly: "If you are a genius, you'll make your own rules, but if not—and the odds are against it—go to your desk, no matter what your mood, face the icy challenge of the paper—write."

Gertrude Stein: "To write is to write is to write is to write is to write is to write is to write is to write."

How Do You Alleviate Writer's Block?

Bob Moresco, an Oscar-winning writer, reveals how to cure writer's block in this minute and a half video.