--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I do think that the idea of writer's…" description: "\"I do think that the idea of writer's block can be very self-defeating for most writers because it's taking a lot of things that are not only real probl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37d/emily-barton-18422_addresses_i-do-think-that-the-idea-of-writer-s-blo_751513.jpg" --- # I do think that the idea of writer's block can be very… ![“I do think that the idea of writer's block can be very self-defeating for most writers because it's taking a lot of things that are not only real problems, but that are manageable, solvable problems if you look at them in an individual fashion, and lumping them under the umbrella of something…” quote by Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37d/emily-barton-18422_addresses_i-do-think-that-the-idea-of-writer-s-blo_751513.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37d/emily-barton-18422_addresses_i-do-think-that-the-idea-of-writer-s-blo_751513.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37d/emily-barton-18422_addresses_i-do-think-that-the-idea-of-writer-s-blo_751513.jpg) > “I do think that the idea of writer's block can be very self-defeating for most writers because it's taking a lot of things that are not only real problems, but that are manageable, solvable problems if you look at them in an individual fashion, and lumping them under the umbrella of something mysterious and vague, which makes it very, very difficult to address what's going on.” [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writer’s block is often a self‑imposed label that masks solvable problems, making them seem mysterious and harder to solve **In simple terms:** Labeling problems as “block” hinders solving them Key Takeaway Identify specific obstacles instead of vague blocks Themes productivity self‑criticism problem‑solving Mood frustrated reflective Type advice analytical When to use this quote - writing drafts - setting micro‑goals - seeking peer feedback - reframing challenges Key Concepts cognitive bias task breakdown Questions to Reflect On - What specific issue is behind your block? - How can you break it into manageable tasks? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex creative issues; not all blocks are self‑generated ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Real problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-problems/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Vague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vague/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer 's block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-s-block/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Writer's block is your self-critic getting in the way, because creativity will just flow otherwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-rogers/writer-s-block-is-your-self-critic-getting-in-the-way-because/) [Maggie Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-rogers/) > [Maybe one of the reasons that I don't ever experience myself as having writer's block is I don't feel that I need to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/maybe-one-of-the-reasons-that-i-don-t-ever-experience-myself-as/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [I’m so revolted by writers taking themselves seriously that, as a kind of protest, I’ve deprioritized the role of writing in my life. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/i-m-so-revolted-by-writers-taking-themselves-seriously-that-as-a-kind/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [You block self-growth when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaoru/you-block-self-growth-when-you-allow-your-fear-to-grow-bigger-than/) [Kaoru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaoru/) > [I've experienced writer's block, but never for more than a few days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-jon-williams/i-ve-experienced-writer-s-block-but-never-for-more-than-a-few-days/) [Walter Jon Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-jon-williams/) > [With two books a year, I don't have time for writer's block.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-rollins/with-two-books-a-year-i-don-t-have-time-for-writer-s-block/) [James Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-rollins/) > [If I've got Writer's Block it generally means that I don't have that much to say or something's not quite connecting. I have had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-goulding/if-i-ve-got-writer-s-block-it-generally-means-that-i-don-t-have-that/) [Ellie Goulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-goulding/) > [My prescription for writer's block is to face the fact that there is no such thing… Writing well is difficult, but one can always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mallon/my-prescription-for-writer-s-block-is-to-face-the-fact-that-there-is/) [Thomas Mallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mallon/) > [Writer's block.. when one curses the blinking cursor on the blank page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-brett/writer-s-block-when-one-curses-the-blinking-cursor-on-the-blank-page/) [Regina Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-brett/) > [Cure for writer's block: blow something up(in the story)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/cure-for-writer-s-block-blow-something-up-in-the-story/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [I don't think that writer's block exists really. I think that when you're trying to do something prematurely, it just won't come. Certain subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-don-t-think-that-writer-s-block-exists-really-i-think-that-when-you/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I don't believe in writer's block, writing well is very easy; it's writing horribly, the horrible work necessary to do to get to writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-young/i-don-t-believe-in-writer-s-block-writing-well-is-very-easy-it-s/) [Dean Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-young/) > [I've never really suffered complete and utter writer's block, really. I equate it with sex: in the beginning of my career, I was writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loudon-wainwright-iii/i-ve-never-really-suffered-complete-and-utter-writer-s-block-really-i/) [Loudon Wainwright III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loudon-wainwright-iii/) > [I think writer's block is simply the dread that you are going to write something horrible. But as a writer, I believe that if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/i-think-writer-s-block-is-simply-the-dread-that-you-are-going-to/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [Writer's block? I've never heard of a plumber complain about plumber's block.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/writer-s-block-i-ve-never-heard-of-a-plumber-complain-about-plumber-s/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) ## More by Emily Barton > [Maybe one of the reasons that I don't ever experience myself as having writer's block is I don't feel that I need to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/maybe-one-of-the-reasons-that-i-don-t-ever-experience-myself-as/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [ We \[me and husband \] had been learning about the Khazars, and I had read Michael Chabon's novel \[Gentlemen of the Road\] the year… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/we-me-and-husband-had-been-learning-about-the-khazars-and-i-had-read/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [A good book is a good book, and there are a lot of different ways to approach writing or reading one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/a-good-book-is-a-good-book-and-there-are-a-lot-of-different-ways-to/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [I think that novels are one of the best means that we have to communicate both with the past and with the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/i-think-that-novels-are-one-of-the-best-means-that-we-have-to/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [ \[Michael\] Chabon is arguing in favor of what is at the same time an old-fashioned and very forward-thinking opening up - of taking off… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/michael-chabon-is-arguing-in-favor-of-what-is-at-the-same-time-an-old/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [Teaching and writing, really, they support and nourish each other, and they foster good thinking. Because when you show up in the classroom, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/teaching-and-writing-really-they-support-and-nourish-each-other-and/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [A novel is a way to rethink and rewrite and re-envision the past, and also a way to speak to people who haven't been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/a-novel-is-a-way-to-rethink-and-rewrite-and-re-envision-the-past-and/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [ I'm not for it \[Brookland and The Testament of Yves Gundron \], I'm not against it, I'm just interested in it and how it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/i-m-not-for-it-brookland-and-the-testament-of-yves-gundron-i-m-not/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [Nobody thinks that there were never mechanical horses in the world. Everybody knows that there aren't really golems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/nobody-thinks-that-there-were-never-mechanical-horses-in-the-world/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [If I don't write every day for one week or even, frankly, one year, I don't really think too much about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/if-i-don-t-write-every-day-for-one-week-or-even-frankly-one-year-i/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [It's very difficult, I think for most writers, to carve out the time and the kind of imaginative space to do the writing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/it-s-very-difficult-i-think-for-most-writers-to-carve-out-the-time/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [I feel that there is an alternate ending that leaps off too far into fantasy and there is an alternate ending that leaps off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/i-feel-that-there-is-an-alternate-ending-that-leaps-off-too-far-into/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [It would have been a hard year if I'd spent it berating myself for not working on the book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/it-would-have-been-a-hard-year-if-i-d-spent-it-berating-myself-for/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [There are as many different ways to write a novel as there are varieties of human consciousness, so I am totally delighted if people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/there-are-as-many-different-ways-to-write-a-novel-as-there-are/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [Tom, my husband, who converted to Judaism when we got married, and as a consequence, we were learning about historical conversions to Judaism. Really,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/tom-my-husband-who-converted-to-judaism-when-we-got-married-and-as-a/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) [Explore all 35 Emily Barton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) ## More Addresses quotes > [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... 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It acknowledges the reality that the evil we observe in the world is also present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/i-m-a-christian-because-christianity-names-and-addresses-sin-it/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [Each Act of Parliament intended to address harassment and discrimination has faced objections on the basis of 'you'll never be able to prove...' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-field/each-act-of-parliament-intended-to-address-harassment-and/) [Tim Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-field/) > [The pleasures and the cares of the luckiest ambition, even of limitless power, are nothing next to the intimate happiness that tenderness and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/the-pleasures-and-the-cares-of-the-luckiest-ambition-even-of/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [You will find a spring by the dwelling of the dead, to the left. Next to it stands a white cypress. Do not approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustaw-herling-grudzinski/you-will-find-a-spring-by-the-dwelling-of-the-dead-to-the-left-next/) [Gustaw Herling-Grudzinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustaw-herling-grudzinski/) > [ \[T\]he appropriate form of address between man and man ought to be, not monsieur, sir, but fellow sufferer, compagnon de miseres. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/t-he-appropriate-form-of-address-between-man-and-man-ought-to-be-not/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Like a versatile baller, George Dohrmann swings seamlessly from position to position: investigative journalist, social critic, gifted storyteller. The result is a gem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-jon-wertheim/like-a-versatile-baller-george-dohrmann-swings-seamlessly-from/) [L. Jon Wertheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-jon-wertheim/) > [Each email contains an unsubscribe link. We will NEVER sell, rent, loan, or abuse your email address in ANY way. Writing has been so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mccaffrey/each-email-contains-an-unsubscribe-link-we-will-never-sell-rent-loan/) [Anne McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-mccaffrey/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [In science, address the few, in literature the many. 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I don't know where on the fence I am about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/pedestrian-s-rights-because-we-live-in-california-i-ve-got-to-address/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [With no other privilege than that of sympathy and sincere good wishes, I would address an affectionate exhortation to the youthful literati, grounded on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/with-no-other-privilege-than-that-of-sympathy-and-sincere-good-wishes/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Senator Obama will be taking office at a critical juncture. There are many pressing challenges facing the international community, including the global financial crisis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-clark/senator-obama-will-be-taking-office-at-a-critical-juncture-there-are/) [Helen Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-clark/) Browse all 1,100 Addresses quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I do think that the idea of writer's block can be very self-defeating for most writers because it's taking a lot of things that are not only real problems, but that are manageable, solvable problems if you look at them in an individual fashion, and lumping them under the umbrella of something mysterious and vague, which makes it very, very difficult to address what's going on.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily Barton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/i-do-think-that-the-idea-of-writer-s-block-can-be-very-self-defeating/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Addresses" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/i-do-think-that-the-idea-of-writer-s-block-can-be-very-self-defeating/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37d/emily-barton-18422_addresses_i-do-think-that-the-idea-of-writer-s-blo_751513.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37d/emily-barton-18422_addresses_i-do-think-that-the-idea-of-writer-s-blo_751513.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37d/emily-barton-18422_addresses_i-do-think-that-the-idea-of-writer-s-blo_751513.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I do think that the idea of writer's block can be very self-defeating for most writers because it's taking a…” — Emily Barton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Emily Barton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I do think that the idea...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/i-do-think-that-the-idea-of-writer-s-block-can-be-very-self-defeating/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/i-do-think-that-the-idea-of-writer-s-block-can-be-very-self-defeating/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```