Does Writer’s Block Exist?

A coupla tweets for your delectation: Lookee here! Another guy–and they almost always seem to be guys!–claims #writersblock doesn’t exist. They seem to come out of the woodwork every once in a while. https://t.co/Eb5deQQdG1 — Hillary Rettig (@hillaryrettig) May 7, 2018 “Writer’s block is a delicious myth” How callous and condescending, not to mention, #clueless, can you get? #writersblock #writers — Hillary Rettig…

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When a Success Leaves You *Less* Able to Do Your Work

I use the term “situational perfectionism” to describe circumstances that cause your perfectionism to spike. A failure (or perceived failure) can do that, but so, paradoxically, can a success, especially if it causes you to feel more visible or scrutinized. J.K. Rowling experienced this after the exceptional success of the first Harry Potter book, but…

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What To Do If You Are Stuck in the Middle of a Project

Middles are tough. It’s no accident that Dante began The Inferno, his allegorical journey through Hell, thusly: Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a forest dark, For the straightforward pathway had been lost. Or that Christian, the pilgrim in John Bunyan’s allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress, encounters the bog called the…

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