Some of the writers who take my writing workshop tell me they have writer's block. But they can write me long emails, so it's not literally writer's block. However, they are stuck on something—something that prevents them from writing something useful. So they call it writer's block. Instead, I suspect they have project block, where they would rather write almost anything than the thing they are “supposed” to write.
(I won't lie—I'm human and I do experience stuckness at times. I'll write more writing secrets to share how I get unstuck.)
But many of us confuse project block with writer's block.
How to Know If You Have Writer's Block
I experience writer's block when Something Is Going On In My Life that prevents me from making progress on any of my writing. Often, including email.
However, more often, I have project block.
- When I'm overwhelmed with the number of projects (all projects), so I can't decide what to write.
- I can' t see how to start or end a specific piece.
- Worse, I've worked on it for too long and now I'm bored. Or frustrated. Or any of those negative emotions that pull me off the writing.
All of those are indications of project block for me. (I think I learned about project block from Jerry Weinberg, but I do not see it in Weinberg on Writing (my Amazon affiliate link).)
Overwhelm can be cause some kind of stuckness or block. I've experienced two major kinds of overwhelm: the life overwhelm when other people cause havoc, and when I cause my own havoc.
Life Overwhelm Blocks
Sometimes, life overwhelms us, especially if other people cause this overwhelm. My fiction teachers, Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch, call these overwhelming life problems this lovely name: Life rolls.
Some life rolls are wonderful: the birth of a new baby, some lifecycle event such as a wedding, or even a vacation. In addition, we have sad life rolls, such as the death of a beloved friend or family member. Life rolls compound, so the more of them, the longer the life roll.
Here's how I often experience life rolls: Life picks you up, rolls you in a carpet, and throws you off a cliff. Maybe you feel the rocks going down. You might even feel submerged under the raging ocean. And the carpet traps your arms and legs, so the waves push you around.
But here's the key: You have to figure out what to do about the roll. Or wait for it to subside.
Can you wait for a life roll to subside? You might have to, if the life roll is caused by other people. Because we don't have control over them and their actions. All we can do is control our reactions.
That's where I like to think of this version of the Satir change model: the only way is through. And sometimes we live in the back-and-forth state of getting through, where we explore possibilities. If you are in a life roll, my best wishes to you. Consider experimenting with what and when you write. And remember, the writing will still be there when you are ready.
However, most of my students do not have writer's block. Instead, they have other kinds of overwhelm, such as project overwhelm, which can lead to project block.
Project Overwhelm Can Feel Like Writer's Block
If you have not yet read James Clear's Atomic Habits (my Amazon affiliate link), I strongly recommend you do. He said something perfectly:
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
When my systems stop working, I feel the same as if I'm in an externally-caused life roll. I still have the feeling of being tossed off the cliff in a rolled-up carpet.
But in project overwhelm, I'm stuck because I cannot decide what to write first, because there is so much to do. The real name is decision overwhelm.
I just experienced this. I've practiced personal kanban for decades to manage my appetite for more work vs the time I have available. However, my old personal kanban system no longer worked for me. I needed a new set of tools. But the time between my recognition of that system failure and my acquisition of a new set of tools took much longer than I expected. (Part of that time was my denial of my reality!)
Since I have a new tool, I first made an imperfect list. That's a form of writing. Then, I wrote something small, so I could cross it off my list. That allowed me to get unstuck and to refine my new system.
(Even if you're not a writer, you can use this approach. This is why I love kanban boards for organizing work. If you're part of a team, ask someone or the entire team to collaborate with you to choose and finish just one thing.)
If you can write anything, except for a specific piece, you might have my problem of boredom. That's a different function of project block. Instead of being bored, change what you're writing. I often change to another piece of writing and promise myself I can write something short so I can return to this piece and finish it. (I'll do a deeper dive on boredom in a different Writing Secret.
Is It Project Block or Writer's Block?
If you are in the midst of an externally caused life roll, offer yourself some grace.
However, if you experience project block, offer yourself some options. I happen to like these:
- Write in a short timebox to make some progress on one specific piece of writing. Then go to something else you enjoy.
- Start with a story or specific example, so you have something to discuss in the piece.
- Skip the part that you feel stuck on, and write some other part. I often do this in columns where I want to offer three ideas but I'm stuck on #2. I move to #3.
With project block, you can create choices for yourself. With externally caused writer's block, you might not even feel as if you have choices.
This is part of an intermittent series of “writing secrets.” Want to learn how to write faster and better? Please join me in the next writing workshop that starts in January 2026. It's the last workshop where I will offer personalized feedback. Please join us.