| Writer's block is a malady that afflicts hundreds of | | | | than good stuff. |
| thousands of writers, worldwide. | | | | (3) We have an excuse for not producing. It's like |
| Suddenly, productivity plummets or stalls, and | | | | being possessed, homesteaded by an alien. "It's |
| one's mood tanks, as well. | | | | not that I don't want to produce," we can |
| Usually, it is seen as a curse that no one would | | | | maintain, "But this demon won't let me!" |
| wish on himself. | | | | (4) We can be openly jealous and critical of |
| But lately, I've been thinking writer's block and | | | | others who are more prolific. "Hey," we can |
| most creative stoppages offer some bizarre | | | | maintain, "if they suffered from this curse, they'd |
| satisfactions to sufferers. | | | | be just like me. Maybe they will, someday!" |
| Here are five of them: | | | | (5) It gives us an excuse to not look deeper into |
| (1) Being a victim engenders sympathy from | | | | what's really bugging us, like the multiple rejections |
| those around us. Periodically, people can phone us | | | | we have suffered at the hands of paste-eating |
| and look into our soulful eyes and ask: "Have you | | | | magazine and book editors. We don't have to see |
| been able to write anything, lately?" | | | | that by becoming martyrs we're really just |
| (2) A block is consistent with the stereotype that | | | | projecting inward the great hostility we feel for |
| REAL artists must suffer to birth their work. If it | | | | others who don't respect or pay enough for our |
| comes easily, it's like cheating. Either we're not | | | | work product. |
| genuine artists or what we're churning out is less | | | | |