Writer's block? Certainly not where it pertains to my fiction-writing; that's taken off very well this summer. But where it pertains to poetry I seem to be in the middle of a small dry spell after writing something like a dozen or more individual poems in July, one of the most prolific months I've ever had. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that--it just means I'm inspired toward different forms at different times--but it can be aggravating, all the same.
Once I have an idea, I generally don't have too much trouble getting into the writing flow, especially if I get a good start at tackling it. (For instance, today I sat thinking for a few minutes, my mind blank, until the words "writer's block" entered the catacombs of my mind; now I'm charging along just fine.) This is not always the case, however. Even when the words do flow, it doesn't always mean they are good words. But at least it's a beginning.
Writer's block seems to be a phenomenon that varies from writer to writer. I've read that some do not believe in writer's block, while others seem to suffer terribly from it. What I believe is that it is a state of mind, that it can be overpowering but that it probably is an indicator that there is something wrong that likely has nothing to do with writing in and of itself. When I am worrying about something in my daily life, such as a job interview, it can be as if I'd never written a single word down in my entire life. Sometimes I can write my way through it, sometimes not. I've found it's often best not to force it. I take a walk or a nap, or listen to an Apples in Stereo CD, or compose an email to a friend, anything I can do to get my mind off the block for a while. Usually this helps, though not always. Doing a freewrite can also generate the creative juices, even if all you are writing is "My God, my God, I have to write but I cannot write, I have to write but I cannot write" over and over again.
Most importantly, I keep my goal in sight. I remind myself that I am a writer, that writing is a part of me and it's not something I'm going to lose, even if it may sometimes feel like it. And, even if I can only succeed in cranking out eight words a day ("I have to write but I cannot write"), that is still forward progress, miniscule as it may be. More words will come. The block will not be permanent; the Muse will return.
