Something in the Way
The amorphous nemesis called writer’s block.
One brief musing about storytelling per day (or, more likely, as frequently as I can muster).
March 18, 2026
IN ALMOST FOUR DECADES of writing, across several thousand stories and essays, I somehow have never encountered actual writer’s block. Until this month.
Don’t get me wrong; I’ve procrastinated plenty. But I’ve never sat down, looked at a blank screen and been stuck. I won’t get into the details of what I’ve gotten stuck on. Suffice it to say that it’s about a huge and diffuse topic, and while I know what I want it to be about, I can’t seem to figure out the answer to Stupid Question No. 2: How should this story be told?
But since it’s a new feeling for me — the notion of no words coming out — I figured I’d pause and unpack it in this space. Be my own guinea pig, in effect — both in case it’s of use to others and in case others have thoughts about how they deal with it.
My block is not total. It’s about how to begin the damn thing. I keep writing paragraphs that are interesting and will probably end up in the piece, but I can’t write the beginning.
What does this tell me? I see a number of possibilities.
Fuzziness. My thesis, or nut graf, is generally what I want it to be but far from sharp enough. It needs to be more focused so that the top points directly into the story. I find this to be the possible sticking point. It’s the usual advice I give people — hone your nut graf — so I should probably road-test it myself.
Too much material. I’m possibly over-reporting. This happens to a lot of journalists, including many I have edited. The urge to know more, and to be thorough, sometimes drowns out the common sense of getting it done. What’s more — and I suspect this is happening with me here — I have gathered about 40 different examples of what I’m trying to write about and I’m having lots of trouble narrowing them down because they’re all so interesting.
Scope creep. Have I stopped doing what I set out to do? Have I drifted? Have I moved to something different? That’s absolutely OK — research and reporting can take a different direction and the story can evolve — but if a writer doesn’t acknowledge when it’s happening, it can create a logjam between the original notion and the evolved one.
Avoidance. Has this piece of writing taken on too big a size in my head? When I went to Penn State as a freshman, at first I was overwhelmed by the size of the damn place. I had no idea what my entry point was into campus life. But I realized that by breaking it down into smaller chunks — the student newspaper, being a peer counselor, joining a fraternity — it became manageable. I think this is a potential cure for writing impediments, too: Understand precisely what’s intimidating you and develop strategies to overcome it.
That’s all I’ve got. It’s a block, after all. And getting it down like this has, I think, already helped me diagnose and start thinking about treatment.
Does this help you at all? And do you have additional thoughts about how to push through this? I’d be very interested in hearing. Drop your comments below.
And now, Nirvana.
To Ponder
What are your techniques for dealing with writer’s block? How do you break the seal?
Those of you who argue that there’s no such thing: Drop comments about that and why you believe that. I’m on the fence.
Editors: What advice have you given on this subject?
Are you doing any teaching on writing at the moment？ I’ve found your stuff really useful.
I haven't yet really experienced real writer's block as such, but painter's block, plenty. With writing, talking to someone about an idea, making a mind-map or writing notes helps me get started. With a painting, I often have no idea what I want and end up just throwing paint on a canvas in the hope something will emerge.