Word: block
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...every schoolboy knows, writer's block is an affliction every bit as debilitating as ... (Well, as what? Maybe a cup of coffee will help...
Writer's block is a condition that...
...beat the block by leading off with other people's quotes.) "Blocks are simply forms of egotism," said Lawrence Durrell...
...Maybe this will do it.) What can be done to break writer's block? There are many traditional answers: change of scenery, change of work habits, drop everything and see a James Bond movie. Durrell recommends insulting oneself while shaving and concentrating on unpaid bills. T.S. Eliot broke his block by writing poems in French. (Dabbling in lesser languages removes pressure to perform in mother tongue.) Tom Wolfe, to tally blocked on his first famous article, a story about customized cars for Esquire, wrote a really socko memorandum to his editor on the subject. The editor ran the memo...
...Angeles Psychoanalyst Martin Grotjahn thinks he knows the cause of the malady. Says he: "People who have strong needs to love or fight are more prone to writer's block." Most psychiatrists believe that, just as there is no single explanation for murder or theft, there is no one cause for writer's block. But Grotjahn, who discusses the problem in his book Beyond Laughter, believes hostility is the fundamental reason. Writing is an aggressive demand for attention. It can be blocked when a writer projects his anger onto reviewers and readers. "It's the fear...