Is there anything more frustrating to a writer than the dreaded writer’s block? It’s so infuriating! And then, the more you think about it and try to force the words to come, the worse you feel.
We’ve all been there. But, I thought this week, I would help you out and give you a place to go when you need to beat writer’s block or at least feel comforted to know the frustration won’t last.
Humorous Quotes
“I deal with writer’s block by lowering my expectations.” – Malcolm Gladwell
“The wonderful thing about writing is that there is always a blank page waiting. The terrifying thing about writing is that there is always a blank page waiting.” – J.K. Rowling
“Writing about a writer’s block is better than not writing at all.” – Charles Bukowski
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” – Jack London
“I haven’t had trouble with writer’s block. I think it’s because my process involves writing very badly. My first drafts are filled with lurching, clichéd writing, outright flailing around. Writing that doesn’t have a good voice or any voice. But then there will be good moments. It seems writer’s block is often a dislike of writing badly and waiting for writing better to happen.” – Jennifer Egan
The Harsh Truth
“One of the most difficult things is the first paragraph. I have spent many months on a first paragraph, and once I get it, the rest just comes out very easily.” – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
“I’ve often said that there’s no such thing as writer’s block; the problem is idea block. When I find myself frozen–whether I’m working on a brief passage in a novel or brainstorming about an entire book–it’s usually because I’m trying to shoehorn an idea into the passage or story where it has no place.” – Jeffrey Deaver
“What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks ‘the cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat.’ And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I’m writing, I write. And then it’s as if the muse is convinced that I’m serious and says, ‘Okay. Okay. I’ll come.'” – Maya Angelou
“You can’t think yourself out of a writing block; you have to write yourself out of a thinking block.” – John Rogers
“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
Quotes To Motivate
“I don’t sit around waiting for passion to strike me. I keep working steadily because I believe it is our privilege as humans to keep making things. Most of all, I keep working because I trust that creativity is always trying to find me, even when I have lost sight of it.” – Elizabeth Gilbert
“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.
“You fail only if you stop writing.” – Ray Bradbury
“You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.” – Octavia E. Butler
“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” – Jodi Picoult
Never Stop Trying
Don’t allow your writer’s block to stand in the way of creating something great. Your block won’t last forever, but you can’t expect it to go away on its own. You have to work a little bit for it and get yourself in the mindset that you can get out of it.
