I have encountered a particularly insidious form of writer's block. Ready? Here it is:
You start out with an idea. I'm sure it's an amazing idea. No need to go into what is is here. You begin to think that maybe this is an idea that deserves writing down. That being the case, you imagine what might happen when you do write it down. Say, for example, in a blog. 'If I write this idea down in a blog,' you might think, 'there may be ramifications. After all, somebody who reads it might think X, Y and Z as a result! I should really have answers to those observations/objections!'
With these new insights, you may feel inspired. You might pursue X, Y and Z (whatever they may be) and formulate responses to them. Please remember that nothing has been written yet. This entire exercise is taking place in your mind. With your solid replies to (a wholly theoretical) X, Y and Z intact, you might begin to explore those answers, and subject them to all manner of logical attacks (intended, of course, to test their validity). These attacks, if pursued far enough, might show up flaws in the responses to X, Y and Z (for the sake of argument, let's refer to them as Rx, Ry and Rz, or Rx et al, for short).
Now, in light of these most recent (entirely theoretical) attacks, Rx et al might be looking rather flimsy (insert your own joke about the pharmaceutical industry here). So new arguments are formulated to plug the leaks in the responses to the existing argument. Let's call them Rx sub lots. Rx sub lots needs even more thought to answer, and these thought probably lead you to improved versions of the original argument. This new version spawns improved versions of X, Y and Z, and the cycle continues. When it eventually grounds out, you may be left with a thought that looks completely absurd, thanks to the mental gymnastics you had to go through to account for every possible sub-objection you might care to throw at it, or something so basic and generic that it's barely worth saying...
That's a special kind of writer's block. It's the trap of out thinking yourself, and it's something that I'm specifically trying to overcome in this blog. So, absurdity be damned! Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! Maybe a far orbit of the mind will take us far enough out to escape the gravitational pull of the absurd. Even if it doesn't, it might yet prove to be an interesting trip.
