Writer's Block vs. Procrastination - is there a difference?

I believe it partially.

Some people use "writer's block" as an excuse to procrastinate. They stop writing--stop thinking about how to resolve or get around the problem that they are experiencing by doing something else entirely.

Some people actually have blockages, but how they deal with them can differ. That blockage is just something that's not working correctly, or the writer doesn't know how to handle/use, and whatnot. We can't have all the answers all the time.
When I have them, I stop everything that I'm doing, sit in the darkness with coffee in my hand and my "thinking/studying/reading" music playing, and think about my story. Ten minutes later, I'll have that wall shattered.

Procrastination is one aspect of "writer's block". I personally don't believe in the thing myself - I think the best way to define it is "an excuse".

I see writer's block as a symptom which can have many causes. Some people do use it as an excuse and want to procrastinate. Other people are suffering from depression, are overwhelmed with other things in their life, have writing related anxiety or other issues that are affecting their writing.

I'd like to start by saying I'm not attacking anyone in this post. Just trying to present a point of view I don't see very often in writer's block conversations. I've been the writer who starts up the computer, opens a document and then sits there crying because there's nothing in my head. I've also been the writer who can finish a 100k draft in a month and has more ideas than you can poke a stick at.

Anyway...

'Writer's block is just a form of procrastination' and 'writer's block can be cured with a brief rest' almost made me give up calling myself a writer. If the usual 'quick fix' things didn't fix me, the next most likely answer was that I'd reached the point where 'writer' was something in my past. Looking at it now, that looks like a rather extreme jump, but when all the well-meaning suggestions from fellow writers just made me sink deeper into my despair-spiral the idea that I was just flogging the dead horse of my creative mind seemed pretty accurate.

I almost gave up. The only thing stopping me was probably pure stubbornness. I've been writing since... I don't know. I learnt handwriting by copying my older brother's homework and my parents say I immediately started writing stories. There's never been a time in my life when I couldn't sit in a quiet corner and make up a new story. Then something came along and broke all the pathways between my conscious thoughts and the weird place ideas come from.

This isn't 'stuck'. It isn't 'procrastination'. It's almost like a physical injury. Telling a person feeling this way that they're just lazy and they could do it if they really wanted to is like telling them they're faking a broken bone.

I think as writers (See? Still calling myself one. There's always a way forward.) we need to talk about more than just the 'blocked = procrastination*' type of writer's block. I'm certain that reading a thousand bits of 'quick fix' advice hurt me more.

Final thoughts: In my view, the OP's book takes an overly simplistic view of writer's block. Either things like burnout and anxiety need to be talked about a lot more, or 'writer's block' needs to be treated as a spectrum rather than just a binary case of 'fine' or 'lazy'. At my lowest point, I really needed something other than another well-meaning way to 'jump-start' my mind.





(* Random note: because one of my things to do when I couldn't write was playing with JavaScript, the Linux terminal and some bits and pieces of Python, I can't help reading 'blocked = procrastination' as 'blocked BECOMES procrastination'.)

I would guess that someone who is unable to write due to depression/other mental illness probably has more of a "life block" than a "writer's block" specifically.

I've never had writer's block. At least, I've never had the problem people describe of just simply staring at a blank page and not being able to put anything on it. So it's not something I understand. I have the problem of putting thousands upon thousands of words on a page and then tossing it all out as "stupid" and starting over, rinse, repeat ad nauseum. Anyway I haven't been able to find a solution to that. If you do I would like a heads up.

There's very definitely a difference between life getting in the way (including but not limited to depression or other illnesses, family, work, etc etc) and "writer's block". There's also a difference between being stumped and "writer's block". I'm always puzzled how so many people have "writer's block" and yet can write volumes on their "writer's block".

As I stated, I don't believe in "writer's block". I do believe writers who face real life stressors or find themselves stumped can convince themselves they have "writer's block" and spend so much energy worrying about it, they can't settle down to writing.

I've never had writer's block, but I've procrastinated plenty. Not just with my writing, either. Procrastination for me, evidently, is a life skill, honed to perfection.

Furthermore, putting a mere "fourteen words" on a page is still writing, at least to me. So is writing furiously and then erasing every word. It's all part of the process.

There is definitely a difference for me between when I'm stuck and when I'm procrastinating.

Now, being blocked has a tendency to lead me to procrastinate. I know how to work through a block, but sometimes I avoid it like I do any challenging task.

One of the ways I work through a block is to just write whatever's on my mind. I consider myself to be blocked if I do my daily 1250 words, but none of it applied to a current project. If I don't sit down and write, I'm not blocked, I'm avoiding it.

Interestingly, I have been avoiding a chapter in my most recent book. A character I love needs to die, and I know it. I've known it since I did the outline, but I'm putting off writing that scene. I don't want to kill him, so I find any excuse not to write that chapter. It's the opposite of being blocked. I have this irrational feeling that no matter how much of the scene is in my head, if I never put it on paper, this fictional person is still alive.

I think procrastination is somewhat part of the creative writing process, at least it is for me. Specifically, after squirting out an idea or two on the page, I move on to develop or think about something else in my narrative, then I go get groceries or to the bank or cart my kid to one of the three million activities he has... and then I go to bed, get up the next day and do the same damn thing all over again.

But what happens when I'm away from my writing - provided I have something I'm really working on - is as important as my 'butt-in-chair' time, I find. The progression is very similar to the study of music, I think. I mean, I remember back when I was studying cello, being flummoxed by a piece of music and knowing but knowing I would never get it down, sleeping on it, and then, little by little, getting on top of it.

The creative process is not linear, as we all know, and I think we all need to give ourselves permission to procrastinate (if that's what you want to call it) so that more parts of our brains have a chance to work things out. And truly, I think this is the only way things do get worked out. My two cents.

There's definitely a difference, no matter what people may say. Procrastination is a case of where you can write, but don't. Writer's block is where you just can't write, no matter how hard you try. I procrastinate all the time, but I always come back to writing just as fine as usual. It's just me being lazy.

Writer's block, Siana put it right about the pathways being broken. It's like, you just forget everything. Your muse buries itself in the deepest corner of your mind and you're just left with nothing when you had everything.

I think there is definitely a difference.

I consider myself in the midst of "writer's block" when I sit down to work on a particular WIP and get stuck. Perhaps I know where the story is going, but I'm not sure how to get there. Perhaps I was on a roll, and all of the sudden, I'm not sure what's going to happen next.

I also consider it "writer's block" if one is plumb out of ideas. (That form of writer's block has not affected me yet).

Procrastination, for me, happens if I know a certain scene is coming but for some reason, I am avoiding it. Maybe it is too personal, maybe it's just difficult or filled with things I don't know much about.

I'm also procrastinating when I decide that the TV show my husband is watching is more interesting, or the book I'm reading.

And then, there's a third thing someone else mentioned - life getting in the way. Being too busy between friends and family, work and all the other things that make up life can put a stop on my writing for any period of time.

Oh, and there's one more thing - just plain not feeling it. This happens to me sometimes. i go through cycles of writing a lot and working on my WIPs...and then I get to a stopping point (whether that's finishing a manuscript, finishing an edit, or finally getting the cover completed and the novel published on Amazon), and for some reason, I need a break.

It's not that I don't write something ever. But my brain needs a break from creativity, I suppose.

neither

Sometimes you need time to solve a problem. You have a million options, and you have to pick possibilities that are true to your story. Sometimes it flows, and sometimes it doesn't. I've struggled for a week on a plot point that just wouldn't come.

But sure, doing sometime that's hard can lead to procrastination. The trick is to keep on reminding the brain to think about it. I write stuff down, change activities, use music, talk to my characters, whatever it takes to keep engaged.

I think there certainly CAN be a difference -- but as others have mentioned here, sometimes one can lead to the other.

My biggest problem is distractions, especially on the computer. Opening up that web browser can be so easy... and suck so much time. Now, do I open the web browser because I can't think of anything to write (writer's block); or is it because I'm just putting off writing (procrastination)? In the end, I don't think it matters a great deal (at least to me) because whatever the reason, I'm not getting any writing done. Then again, I could take a topic like this and use it as an excuse to not do even more writing!

Sheesh. I really need to increase my search... I'm thinking of getting a cheap laptop for writing only -- and not connecting it to the Internet so I can avoid procrastinating... or would that be writer's block?

To me, there's a huge and very simple difference: One is a (usually semi-conscious) choice. The other is not.

Procrastination is something a person is usually aware of and lets themselves get away with. We all have something we procrastinate over, some more than others. Even more, most of us have friend and relatives that will point this fact out to us and most of us will laugh it off.

"Writer's Block" isn't something any writer chooses--at least, not that I can imagine. To interrupt the flow of creativity voluntarily--not likely. I've known of writers who have gotten so block, they needed professional therapy to put pen to paper for a grocery list. Most times I've had it has been because I screwed up somewhere in the writing and my creative mind knows that unless that error gets fixed, nothing will work if I kept writing and that's more frustrating and depressing for me than trying to figure out the original error. Yeah, I think it's more a spectrum than a single problem.

I think being stuck definitely exacerbates the procrastination. I've put my MS aside for months as a result of hitting a wall in the story. If I would have sat down and hashed it out earlier, and made myself move forward, probably I could have eventually. Sometimes the flow isn't there and it is very un-motivating, when life is already busy.

It's easy to say we got to buckle down and dig ourselves out of the block, but sometimes I think we need breaks too, and to return with fresh eyes. That is regularly what happens before I break through my block. And when the flow is there, I write like crazy in all my free time. The two are very inter-woven, I think.

Ann Patchett's perspective applies to me personally, but not to all writers. If I make myself sit down I can work through most story problems. The problem is usually me.

But it's also possible to have a story problem we don't know how to deal with. In which case a writer is stuck, or "blocked."

And it's not even as simple as that. Beware of sweeping generalizations!

I think of procrastinating as making excuses...

I think of writer's block as more of an urban legend.

Sure, you may not know WHAT to write...

But you can always write SOMETHING sooooo....

Do it.

I certainly distinguish the two.
A writer's block is when one wants to write but is unable to (whatever the reason : no idea, etc...)
Procrastination is when one could write but just reschedules to another day.
Mixing both would be like mixing writer's block and broken finger.

I see a difference between the two in myself.

Sometimes I procrastinate because I'm unsure where I'm going in my story. Or I've hit a sticky point. Or I wrote myself into a corner. Or the scene is particularly hard to get down. So I'm usually just blocking myself.

For myself, my 'block' is never insurmountable. I have a few tricks that get me back to the page and writing until I'm over that block-hump and can keep going.

Sometimes, I hit life blocks. Where it seems the universe is conspiring against me to see that I can't physically get to the computer to write anything. Where even 15 minutes is unavailable for the interruptions or the fires I have to put out or the fact that I'm so exhausted that physically staying at the computer just isn't happening.

That's not what I consider writer's block. Nor is it procrastination. It's just life. And it happens and no matter how irritating it is, I just ride through it until I can get back to the keyboard at which time I've lost my momentum and procrastination crops up again. :/

I have always seen 'writer's block' as a kind of self-hatred. You have a creative impulse but when you try to follow through on it your negative reaction to what you actually produce makes it hard to keep trying. Perhaps it stops the creative impulse from expressing itself at all. That's what I've always thought 'writer's block' was.

I love people's replies here. Very interesting =0).

I will say that they are totally different for me. Sometimes I'm just too tired or have a new board game, book, or video game that I want to try out. Doesn't happen very often, but enough to make me feel guilty.

Writer's block is a very real problem for me. I find the cure is to actually be productive. Even if I can't write my novel I'll update my blog. Stupid writer's block...

I think it depends on the person. I tend to suffer more from procrastination since I'm the type of person who works best with deadlines. When left to my own devices I can dawdle... but then once I'm in the zone I can fly. Writers block only seems to hit me when I'm naming people or places. I always want the perfect name. So when I need to name something new I'll often sit and stare at my computer for long stretches of time. I even do this for the most minor of characters.

Reading everything posted here, I therefore conclude that I am procrastinating by being on this board.

Note to Self: Write!

There is no "writer's block," only "writer's gonna write something else!"