Whenever I hear about Writer’s Block, I think of Seth Godin. He dismisses the idea of Writer’s Block by saying that you never hear about someone having Talker’s Block.

Somehow, someway, we always find something to talk about when we’re with other people.

And writing is the same way. If you imagine you’re communicating with someone in front of you.

I use that thinking to help me write blog posts. If I’m with a friend, there’s always something to talk about. Even if there are occasional pauses and silences.

Is it different when you are blocked creatively? For playwrighting, for example.

My problem is not so much about not having anything to write. But deciding what to write.

Or finding the energy to write.

But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s about reframing the problem.

When I was writing my play The Lost Years, I didn’t know where it was going to go. And so, I would write a scene. And then another scene.

And when I felt lost, I would pick an unrelated scene and write that.

It became a play about scenes. A lot of scenes! Which was different from most of my other plays.

But I got through it by picking something else to “talk about” whenever I felt stuck on the current path.

If you’ve got a project that you feel blocked on, try “talking about something else” for a little bit.

Sometimes you need to take a detour to find the right path to your destination.