Wiktionary
n. The inability to begin or continue work on a piece of writing; normally temporary.
WordNet
n. an inability to write; "he had writer's block; the words wouldn't come"
Wikipedia
Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. The condition ranges in difficulty from coming up with original ideas to being unable to produce a work for years. Throughout history, writer's block has been a documented problem.
Professionals who have struggled with the affliction include authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Joseph Mitchell, pop culture cartoonist Charles M. Schulz and British songwriter Adele. Research concerning this topic was done in the late 1970s and 1980s. During this time, researchers were influenced by the Process and Post-Process movements, and therefore focused specifically on the writer's processes. The condition was first described in 1947 by psychoanalyst Edmund Bergler.
Writer's Block is a cover album released by the melodic hardcore band Evergreen Terrace in 2004. It contains mostly covers of songs that influenced the band. The band wrote this in their CD:
"Yeah, we know this isn't our new album. This is just a bunch of covers that we suckered Eulogy into putting out... Hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Roll Deep." - 01/04
Writer's Block is the third album by Peter Bjorn and John. It was released on August 14, 2006. Taking a departure from the production of their first two albums, Writer's Block is an experimental, semi- concept album based around themes of the highs and lows of romance.
The inner sleeve art, as well as containing handwritten liner notes, features a tall, folding illustration of the building alluded to in the album title's wordplay, with each window of the building representing a song from the album. However, the true meaning of the title is said to be a reference to the Hornstull neighbourhood in Stockholm, where the band is based, which is said to have a high concentration of creative artists (hence 'Writer's Block'). The songs take inspiration from a variety of artists, While the album is said to have a slightly more stripped down sound compared to the guitar-dominated previous albums, the arrangements were still too complex in some cases to be played live in their original form- most notably 'The Chills' continues to be entirely reworked for live performances. Later, the album Gimme Some would aim to address this issue directly.
The album had three singles; " Young Folks" (featuring Victoria Bergsman, formerly of The Concretes on guest vocals), "Objects of My Affection", and " Let's Call It Off", the latter two using different versions of the songs than those found on the albums. All three songs had videos, the first music videos by the band. The track "Young Folks" was ranked at #5 on Pitchfork Media's list of the top 100 songs of 2006. Writer's Block was ranked at #24 on Pitchfork's list of the top 50 albums of 2006. The album is generally seen as one of the defining albums of the mid-2000s indie genre.
Writer's block is a phenomenon involving the temporary (psychological) loss of ability to write.
Writer's block may also refer to:
- The Writer's Block, an independent bookseller and literacy educator in Las Vegas, Nevada
- Writer's Block (Evergreen Terrace album), 2004
- Writer's Block (Peter Bjorn and John album), 2006
- "Writer's Block" (Just Jack song), 2006
- "Writer's Block" (Royce da 5'9" song), 2011
"Writer's Block" is a single by English artist Just Jack which was recorded in 2006. It reached 74 in the UK Singles Chart in June 2007.
The spoken word sample at the beginning of the track is taken from an interview given by Mary Rand to the BBC at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Writer's Block is the first official single by Royce da 5'9" that was released on March 29, 2011. The song appears on his fifth studio album, Success Is Certain that was released on the record label Gracie Productions. The song features rapper Eminem, though he only sings the hook and speaks in the intro. It is produced by StreetRunner, and co-produced by Sarom Soundz. "Writer's Block" charted at #199 in the UK and #4 in the US on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles charts. "Writer's Block" is available as a digital download from iTunes, there is no CD single for the song however.
Usage examples of "writer's block".
We came to this point sometime around the thirty-third hour, when I developed an insoluble Writer's Block and began dictating big chunks of the book straight into the microphone -- pacing around the room at the end of an eighteen-foot cord and saying anything that came into my head.
Years later, when I ran into a prolonged writer's block (where nothing goes well, and every word looks worse than the one before, until you can't write even a note to the milkman), I suppose I should have felt that way.
There was nothing, but nothing, to compare with the climactic rapture of the Great Idea that broke a long writer's block.
Maybe tonight, after sex, he will talk with Paige about his writer's block.
However, many writers find that each day, in this sort of schedule, can begin with a small writer's block, a two- or three-hour thing, before the mind is nimble enough to create.
If you want to know the third worst bane of a writer's life, after Writer's Block and Critics, it is Editors.