People have various ideas about writer’s block. The most common assumptions are that people get writer’s block because they don’t know how to express themselves on paper or they can’t find the right words. However, if that were true why do so many people, especially students,  struggle with writer’s block. Based on Mike Rose’s writing, “The Cognitive Dimension of Writer’s Block”, students battle with writer’s block, or inconsistencies while writing, due to their behaviors and tendencies in the writing process. In “Writer’s Block Just Happens to People”, Geoffrey Carter states “You have to try very hard in order not to create at all.” Therefore suggesting writer’s block is not an issue of creating. Instead, it is due to common mistakes made during the writing process.

Mike Rose suggest, premature editing interferes with cognitive behaviors connected to the writers process. Therefore suggesting any delay in expressing an organic thought completely may lead to writers block. Research infers that premature breaks in the writing process to fix grammatical errors can disrupt the natural flow of ones thoughts. As a result, one may get stuck tending to the small details rather than conveying a complete thought. “The Cognitive Dimension of Writer’s Block” teaches us that their are two primary rules writers should incorporate in their writing process flexibly and contextually. While putting less emphasis on corrective habits. Some students have taken certain rules and turned them into laws that can’t be broken. When, in reality, most  literary rules are circumstantial. Therefore, go to your professor and ask them rules you should ot should not focus so heavily on. Lastly, writing is not something you can get “correct by following the rules and using good grammar”(Rose 2).  Although these aspects are important, writing is our second form of communication that allows us to disagree and agree, to share our beliefs, and argue our opinion. Therefore, don’t get lost in the rules in an effort to be correct because you may miss what your trying to communicate.   

Inflexible planning or strategies can also produce blocks when writing. While composing, one should have “strategies that are flexible and multi purposed” to satisfy the needs of a project or assignment. When writers get “locked into one dimension of their processes, they have limited ability to monitor their activity and shift”(Rose 2). Having inflexible writing strategies can cause students to get stuck on one process, preventing them from shifting into other requirements of writing such as, researching, analyzing, composing, editing, and revising. As a result, students may get locked into composing, putting less effort in edit, analyzing and taking notes making it difficult to transition to the composing process. Ones approach to the writing process is expected to vary depending upon the writers preference which is why writing strategies should be flexible and multi purposed, to allow writing to adjust no matter the circumstance. Therefore one should take time to compose a plan that promotes flexibility in every forms of writing.    

Inaccurate assumption can be a huge danger to writers wanting to unblock. There are so many students who believe that passively writing, with no plan or structure, is a successful way to get through a paper. However it is shown that people who use this strategy “compose slowly and with some lack of analytic direction”(Rose 2). Without a planning stage, writers are forced to organize their ideas as they go. Rather than going through a process, passive writers will often skip planning, brainstorming, deep analysis or research to jump directly into writing. Consequently, these writers get stuck thinking about how they want to introduce or proceed in the next sentence, that they don’t get far when composing. Most people mistake writer’s block for this problem, but it is lack of planning and organization that prevents writers and students from gathering their thoughts. Thus, people should abandon the practice of writing with no plan or direction. Simply taking the time to organize and write out ones ideas, and compose a plan according requirement can help tremendously.     

Writing block doesn’t just happen to students, people from all walks of life can find themselves at a lose of word. Geoffrey V. Carter, the author of “Writer’s Block Just Happens to People”, provides readers with realistic strategies to help loosen and free one’s mind from the struggle of writing. “One can facilitate writing by embracing the blank page, by remembering ‘everything is in everything’, and playing with words and names”(Carter 1) These tactics are super helpful in getting your mind ready to do tasks much as reading, analyzing, and most importantly writing. Carter first suggests, “embracing the blank page”(Carter 1). He gets this idea from the article “The Unsuccessful Self-Treatments of a Case of Writer’s Block” by Dennis Upper. The article is simply a blank page, that has a short note reviewer at the end. Geoffrey Carter and Dennis Upper both want to get the point across that the blank page staring at you is nothing to fear. Instead see it as an opportunity to learn and grow as a writer. Carter’s next advice is to remember that “everything is in everything”(Carter 1). When approaching something unfamiliar it is best to understand it with what you already know. Allow yourself to explore a little bit of everything inorder to understand the common connection. Lastly Carter encourages writers to practice word play and free-writing to loosen one’s mind and to find hidden path of direction for writing. Carter states,“looking at your own name and the names of others, we might find puns and anagrams too help move writing along” (Carter 1). This approach to writer’s block encourages writers to let their mind to wonder and promotes thinking outside of the box. By loosening up your mind and disconnecting from the worries of writing can most definitely lead you to creation. So when writing seem very tense, remember there are easy remedies to get you through.        

For some, there are a number of conflicting behaviors within the writing process that may lead to writer’s block. By identifying them, writers can call out potential blockers, to create writing processes free from excessive editing and inflexible strategies. Writing can be challenging but having relaxing tactics such as word play will make a huge difference when brainstorming ideas. Having writer’s block can’t be cure, but there are practices one can put in place inorder to overcome the wanted void of being stuck.       

Citation Page: 

Rose, M. (2009). Writer’s block: The cognitive dimension. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois

University Press.

Carter, G. V. (2017). “Writer’s Block Just Happens to People”. In “Bad Ideas About Writing” (pp.

99-103). Morgantown, West Virginia: Digital Publishing Institute.

Upper, D. (1974). “The Unsuccessful Self-Treatments of a Case of Writer’s Block.” Journal of

Applied Behavior Analysis.