“I’ve realized over the years that, with rare exceptions, most writer’s block isn’t writer’s block at all: It’s necessary time that allows the unconscious mind to do its deep work. The great “Ah-Ha!””

— J.M. DeMatteis

moments don’t usually come at the keyboard. They come when I’m lying on the floor, staring into space (or banging my head against the wall in frustration). All of a sudden the Unconscious Camera turns on, a movie starts playing in my head-and there it is: The Big Moment. Or the Whole Damn Story. And, in many ways, I had nothing whatsoever to do with it.
A Conversation With The Legendary J.M. DeMatteis! (2004)

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comics illustrator 1953

Darby Conley (1970) American cartoonist

Strip from November 18, 2006
Bucky Katt

“writing about a writer's block is better than not writing at all”

Charles Bukowski (1920–1994) American writer

Source: The Last Night of the Earth Poems

“Writer’s block is only a failure of the ego.”

Norman Mailer (1923–2007) American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, film maker, actor and political candidate

“Cure for writer's block: blow something up(in the story)”

Scott Westerfeld (1963) American science fiction writer

“There's no such thing as writer's block. That was invented by people in California who couldn't write.”

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) English author

“"Writer's block" is just another word for video games. If you want to be a writer, get writing, you lazy bastards.”

Brian K. Vaughan (1976) American screenwriter, comic book creator

MySpace blog, 09 April 2007

“He had writer's block once. It was the worst ten minutes of his life.”

Harlan Ellison (1934–2018) American writer

About Isaac Asimov – quoted in Page Fright : Foibles and Fetishes of Famous Writers (2009) by Harry Bruce
Jerry Pournelle, in "Chaos Manor: Is there an Upgrade in your future?" in Dr. Dobb's Journal : Software Tools For The Professional Programmer (2005), Vol. 30, Issues 374-379, p. 9
Variant: Most writers hate to write, and will grasp any excuse to do something else … There are exceptions. Isaac Asimov actually was never happier than sitting at a keyboard — first, his old typewriter; then, the TRS-80; and later, a more conventional PC. But then, Isaac was unusual, and his experience with writer's block was the worst 10 minutes of his life.

“Beauty breeds beauty, truth triggers truth. The cure for writer's block is therefore to read.”

Matt Haig (1975) British writer

Source: The Humans

“Writer's block is a fancy term made up by whiners so they can have an excuse to drink alcohol.”

Steve Martin (1945) American actor, comedian, musician, author, playwright, and producer

“A man can write one book that can be great, but this doesn't make him a great writer-just the writer of a great book. . . I think a writer has to extend very widely, as well as plunge very deep, to be a great novelist. ”

Anthony Burgess (1917–1993) English writer

“I’ve realized over the years that, with rare exceptions, most writer’s block isn’t writer’s block at all: It’s necessary time that allows the unconscious mind to do its deep work. The great “Ah-Ha!””

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J.M. DeMatteis 14

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