Writer's Block: The Cognitive Dimension

Writer’s block is more than a mere matter of discomfort and missed dead­lines; sustained experiences of writer’s block may influence academic success and career choices. Writers in the business world, profes­sional writers, and students all have known this most common and least studied problem with the composing process.  Mike Rose, however, sees it as a limitable problem that can be precisely analyzed and remedied through instruc­tion and tutorial programs.

            Rose defines writer’s block as “an in­ability to begin or continue writing for reasons other than a lack of skill or com­mitment,” which is measured by “pas­sage of time with limited productive involvement in the writing task.” He applies insights of cognitive psychology to reveal dimensions of the problem never before examined.

            In his three-faceted approach, Rose de­velops and administers a questionnaire to identify writers experiencing both high and low degrees of blocking; through stimulated recall he examines the composing processes of these writers; and he proposes a cognitive conceptualization of writer’s block and of the composing process.

            In drawing up his model, Rose delin­eates many cognitive errors that cause blocking, such as inflexible rules or con­flicting planning strategies. He also dis­cusses the practices and strategies that promote effective composition.

The reissue of this classic study of writer’s block includes a new preface by the author that advocates more mixed-methods research in rhetoric and composition, details how he conducted his writer’s block study, and discusses how his approach to a study like this would be different if conducted today.

“You don’t know what it is,” wrote Flau­bert, “to stay a whole day with your head in your hands trying to squeeze your un­fortunate brain so as to find a word.”

Writer’s block is more than a mere matter of discomfort and missed dead­lines; sustained experiences of writer’s block may influence career choices. Writers in the business world, profes­sional writers, and students all have known this most common and least studied dysfunction of the composition process. Rose, however, sees it as a limitable problem that can be precisely analyzed and remedied through instruc­tion and tutorial programs.”

Rose defines writer’s block as “an in­ability to begin or continue writing for reasons other than a lack of skill or com­mitment,” which is measured by “pas­sage of time with limited functional/ productive involvement in the writing task.” He applies the information pro­cessing models of cognitive psychology to reveal dimensions of the problem never before examined.

In his three-faceted approach, Rose de­velops and administers a questionnaire to identify blockers and nonblockers; through simulated recall, he selects and examines writers experiencing both high and low degrees of blocking; and he proposes a cognitive conceptualization of writer’s block and of the composition process.

In drawing up his model, Rose delin­eates many cognitive errors that cause blocking, such as inflexible or con­flicting planning strategies. He also dis­cusses the practice and strategies that promoteeffective composition.

Mike Rose is a member of the English Department at UCLA.