Writer's block

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." It "varies in severity, from difficulty in coming up with original ideas to being unable to produce work for years," and "the fear of failure is the most commonly attributed cause of writing blocks." The condition was "first clinically described in 1947" by the psychoanalyst Edmund Bergler, and Fitzgerald and Conrad are among the writers who struggled with it.

For a working novelist the block is an occupational hazard, not a verdict, and it answers to process: lowered stakes, smaller targets, changed routines. The playbook, from diagnosing the cause to restarting the draft, is how to overcome writer's block, and the daily-count drafting habit behind NaNoWriMo is one of its preventives.