What Causes Writer's Block?

What Causes Writer's Block?
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Fine, but now you ask: What causes Writer's Block? Anything can cause it. What blocks one writer may have no effect on the next writer. All writers are different; therefore different things cause writer's block. It could be something simple: like the loud road construction in front of the writer's driveway. In which case, the block will go away when the big yellow trucks leave. In a case like this, all the write has to do to cure the block is to go someplace else to write for a few days while the city fixed the streets.
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For most writers though, the cause of writer's block may not be so easy to cure. Nine times out of ten, writer's block is a result of stress in your daily life. Stress and worry can cause writer's block. To many hospital bills, a house fire, moving, these stress-filled causes of writer's block can haunt a writer so badly that they find themselves worrying so much about life events, that their mind is simply too exhausted to think about writing, than when they try to write, they find that they can't and often, they don't understand why.
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Health is another cause of writer's block. If you are sick, run down, in pain, or tired, all your brain is going to do is try to convince you that you need to rest. No matter how much you try to think of something to write, your brain just keeps blocking. Curing this kind of writer's block can be as simple as taking a 2-hour nap, but it could also be near impossible to cure if your health is really bad off. Your best bet is to get to your doctor and get your health back.
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For freelancers, one of the most common causes of writer's block is a deadline. Fear of not reaching a deadline in time, can cause your brain to "panic" and freeze up.
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In the end, whatever the cause, whatever the reason, the rabidly obsessed writer, who moments ago couldn't stop, writing for a second, now is stuck with a massive dam blocking their flow of creative thought. And there you have it: Writer's Block.
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This article was originally published in April 2007, under the title "Need to Kill Writer's Block? Kill a Character..." is copyright to Wendy C. Allen and The Twighlight Manor Press, and is reprinted here on ACwith permission.