Editing Writer's block (section)

{{Short description|Condition in which an author experiences creative slowdown}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
[[File:Leonid Pasternak - The Passion of creation.jpg|243px|thumb|right|A representation of writer's block by [[Leonid Pasternak]] (1862–1945)]]
'''Writer's block''' is a non-medical condition, primarily associated with [[writing]], in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown.

Writer's block has various degrees of severity, from difficulty in coming up with original ideas to being unable to produce work for years. This condition is not solely measured by time passing without writing, it is measured by time passing without productivity in the task at hand.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rose |first=Mike |title=Writer's Block: The Cognitive Dimension |date=1984 |others=Foreword by Marilyn S. Sternglass |publisher=Published for Conference on College Composition and Communication by [[Southern Illinois University Press]] |isbn=0-8093-1141-0 |location=Carbondale |oclc=9392424 |url=https://archive.org/details/writersblockcogn0000rose |url-access=registration}}</ref> Writer's block has been an acknowledged problem throughout recorded history and many experience it.<ref name="Clark" />

However, not until 1947 was the term {{em|writer's block}} coined by the Austrian psychiatrist [[Edmund Bergler]]. All types of writers, including full-time professionals, academics, workers of creative projects, and those trying to finish written assignments, can experience writer's block.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Symptoms and Cures for Writer's Block - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University |url=https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/writers_block/index.html |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=owl.purdue.edu}}</ref> The condition has many causes, some that are even unrelated to writing. The majority of writer's block researchers agree that most causes of writer's block have an affective/physiological, motivational, and cognitive component.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ahmed |first=Sarah |date=2019-01-01 |title=An Analysis of Writer's Block: Causes, Characteristics, and Solutions |url=https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/etd/903 |journal=UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations}}</ref>

Studies have found effective coping strategies to deal with writer's block. These strategies aim to remove the [[anxiety]] about writing and range from ideas such as [[free writing]] and [[brainstorming]] to talking to a professional.<ref name=Huston/>