Writers On Writers Block Quotes & Sayings

Don't be afraid to be the new kid on the block. Pay attention and respect the more seasoned writers around you, but when you are ready to jump into the fire just remember to wear fire- retardant pajamas. — L.A. Lewandowski

Writers block: when I get it, it's because my subconscious spotted that I'd make a huge structural mistake in constructing a novel before my conscious mind became aware of it, and threw on the brakes. So I've learned not to sweat it: take two days off, then back up a chapter, read through, and try to work out why I'm suddenly uneasy about continuing. — Charles Stross

Kathleen Norris, on the publication of her 78th book.
'All writing is difficult. The most you can hope for is a day when it goes reasonably easily. Plumbers don't get plumber's block, and doctors don't get doctor's block; why should writers be the only profession that gives a special name to the difficulty of working, and then expects sympathy for it? — Kathleen Norris

Writer's block is just another name for fear. — Jacob Nordby

To be motivated to write a novel, I need to be unable not to write. — Johnny Rich

That famous writer's block is a myth as far as I'm concerned. I think bad writers must have a great difficulty writing. They don't want to do it. They have become writers out of reasons of ambition. It must be a great strain to them to make marks on a page when they really have nothing much to say, and don't enjoy doing it. I'm not so sure what I have to say but I certainly enjoy making sentences. — Gore Vidal

Writing is like riding a bike. Once you gain momentum, the hills are easier. Editing, however, requires a motor and some horsepower. — Gina McKnight

The muse is fickle; ergo, when she knocks, ANSWER! It may take a while, but trust me, she WILL knock. In the meantime, keep your ear pressed firmly to the door. — Quentin R. Bufogle

Replace your old books with the books you've always wanted to write. — Rob Bignell, Editor

Through the act of writing, a writer learns more about himself than he could ever imagine. — Rob Bignell, Editor

I never really feel that I'm stuck. I actually think that people are never stuck, there's no such thing as writers block, I think that theres terror that can silence you. But if you can think of it as a dynamic thing I mean a writers block, it's a paralysis an immobility and the thing that has immobilized you is a very powerful force. Immobility is itself an act, it's a choice. It can sometimes take as much energy to remain immobile as it does to be mobile. And if you think of it in a dynamic way then it'd freeze you from the sense that at some point your talent will simply abandon you and you're just a vacant shell with nothing to say, I don't think that ever really happens. But I think that terror, bad experience, trauma and so on can absolutely silence you. — Tony Kushner

Every word I write is a seed that I may nurture into a small, beautiful poem or a tall, soaring tree. — Rob Bignell, Editor

Real life and fantasy intertwines themselves breathing life into the very characters I create. As I write you could hear the~~click tap of the keys on the keyboard resound off the walls. At times writers block hinder my way until by way of sound, light, or even look gives me a new insight to push forward... — Jacqueline Silva

Every word I write is another stroke that takes me to the shore of a completed book. — Rob Bignell, Editor

When she got back from taking Cassie to school Fancy knew that she ought to be working on her wilderness romance. She had promised thirty thousand words to her editor by tomorrow, and she had only written eleven. Specifically:
His rhinoceros smelled like a poppadom: sweaty, salty, strange and strong.
Her editor would cut that line. — Jaclyn Moriarty

I'm not the new kid on the block anymore. Writers always use the phrase "aging rocker," and I'm like, "What other option do I have?" You're either aging or you're dead. — Bret Michaels

There is always, always, always something to write about. — Rob Bignell, Editor

Don't let writers block push you around. Figure out what the problem is,whether it's with the ms or it's in your personal life, and face it head on. Don't stop writing. Just try really hard to work through it. — Darynda Jones

The very qualities that make one a writer in the first place contribute to the block: hypersensitivity, stubbornness, insatiability, and so on. Given the general oddity of writers, no wonder there are no sure cures. — John Gardner

The thing I want to write most is the next thing I write. — Carroll Bryant

You don't have to take it out on my typewrite ya' know. It's not the machine's fault that you can't write. It's a sin to do that to a good machine. — Sam Shepard

Writer's block is caused by forcing your will on the Divine. — Chriscinthia Blount

If you're a writer, the insight of other writers - if there's some kind of Holy Grail message on how to deal with writer's block or how to deal with any problem that can come up - whether you're writing about yourself or a group of people, I find that very interesting. — Jim Rash

I've lived inside every ward of Freedom Incorporated and found I don't like being lied to. Put me in prison; do not put me on the street then call that freedom. Do not force me to into believing block-cut neon red, white, and blue letters super-glued to the tall, outside company wall blinking Freedom Incorporated," chapter seven 'The Problem' from writer Cosmo Starlight's sixth edition novel "Freedom Incorporated. — Cosmo Starlight

Each time I write, I reaffirm my soul. — Rob Bignell, Editor

My ideas are a shapeless mass that my writing molds into beauty. — Rob Bignell, Editor

Time heals all wounds; some broken hearts
and most cases of writer's block. — Quentin R. Bufogle

I write whenever it suits me. During a creative period I write every day; a novel should not be interrupted. — Francois Mauriac

To unlock the writer's block is to keep writing until you can unknot the "not". If you cannot, then put a can in the plot and unwrap it a lot! — Ana Claudia Antunes

Writing isn't difficult. Writing well is difficult. What is most difficult is being with the interior experience that manifests as resistance to writing. — H. Raven Rose

Writers block to me is all the voices in your head trying to tune out the one voice that has something worthy say. — Shanet Outing

What is hell to a writer? Hell is being too busy to find the time to write or being unable to find the inspiration. Hell is suddenly finding the words but being away from your notebook or typewriter. Hell is when the verses slip away through your fingers and they never return again. — R.M. Engelhardt

Putting pen to paper without first deciding the route and pace at which to scribe is like setting off on a bicycle without first checking the tyres. — Fennel Hudson

I hate tricks. At the first sign of a trick or gimmick in a piece of fiction, a cheap trick or even an elaborate trick, I tend to look for cover. Tricks are ultimately boring, and I get bored easily, which may go along with my not having much of an attention span. But extremely clever chi-chi writing, or just plain tomfoolery writing, puts me to sleep. Writers don't need tricks or gimmicks or even necessarily need to be the smartest fellows on the block. At the risk of appearing foolish, a writer sometimes needs to be able to just stand and gape at this or that thing- a sunset or an old shoe- in absolute and simple amazement. — Raymond Carver

The last thing we discover in composing a work is what to put down first. — Blaise Pascal

I deal with writer's block by lowering my expectations. I think the trouble starts when you sit down to write and imagine that you will achieve something magical and magnificent - and when you don't, panic sets in. The solution is never to sit down and imagine that you will achieve something magical and magnificent. I write a little bit, almost every day, and if it results in two or three or (on a good day) four good paragraphs, I consider myself a lucky man. Never try to be the hare. All hail the tortoise. — Malcolm Gladwell

A tweet a day keeps writer's block away. — Buffy Andrews

Discipline allows magic. To be a writer is to be the very best of assassins. You do not sit down and write every day to force the Muse to show up. You get into the habit of writing every day so that when she shows up, you have the maximum chance of catching her, bashing her on the head, and squeezing every last drop out of that bitch. — Lili St. Crow

Confront the page that taunts you with its whiteness. Face your enemy and fill it with words. You are bigger and stronger than a piece of paper. — Fennel Hudson

My pen glides effortlessly; while my imaginary character speaks.

Each taking turn to tell their story.

Inspiration took me on a journey; along a path i knew nothing about, then i experienced writers block.

Stock in my thought, unable to fuel the burning desire of my pen i stare at the wall in search of inspiration. — Tim Templer