Writer's block is not a problem. It is a *symptom.*

Going through a divorce? Thyroid imploded? Burnout? Family troubles? All perfectly good reasons for your brain to say "nope, not right now."

Accept it. Spend your energy dealing with the underlying problem. Then, #writing.

Maybe *you* wrote through your divorce. OK, fine. But there is some life event that will stop you cold.

(The preceding brought to you by someone yammering that writer's block is not a thing.)

@mwlucas

Just in case somebody need this to be said: it's the same with programming (which actually is writing).

@Shamar I've done programming, and it's not really the same.

Similarities? Sure. But there's a very different underlying mindset.

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@mwlucas

I'm not a writer (poetry count? and blogging?) so maybe you are right.

But maybe you are confusing coding and programming.

When you code, you encode something that is known into a certain language.

When you program, you explore a problem to build a solution. With my operating system I've had periods of "writer block". Programming is a deeply creative process.

tesio.it/2019/06/03/what-is-in

@Shamar oh, it's certainly a creative process, no disputing that.

But I've written programs to solve previously unsolved problems.

It's just not the same creativity.

@mwlucas

Mind to elaborate?

I'm sincerely curious about your perspective on this difference.

@Shamar With programming, you're creating for a machine that is (theoretically) predictable. Computers are purely intellectual.

With writing, you are creating for an unpredictable reader. You have to simultaneously target several layers of the reader's mind and personality, on multiple fronts, because not all readers have all of your context. You're attempting to evoke an intellectual *and* emotional reaction.

I didn't make a living until I abandoned "programming is writing."

@mwlucas

Very interesting.

I need to think about this.

Meta: I really think you should write something about this.

@Shamar Happy to make you think.

Writing about writing is just navel gazing. It quickly gets annoying to everyone else.

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