History Main / WritersBlock

* ''The Great ComicBook/{{Fables}} Crossover'' centered around return of the leader of The Literals - race of [[AnthropomorphicPersonification AnthropomorphicPersonifications]] of literary concepts - The Writer, who had power to [[RealityWarper change reality according to what he wrote]]. Having decided that world ran out of control since his dissaperance, he wanted to fix it...only to meet his brother, Writer's Block, whose existence made him unable to write. For most of the story he consults Literals embodying different genres, trying to find a way to get rid of his writer's block without having to murder his brother.

-->- '''HarlanEllison''' referring to Creator/IsaacAsimov (writer or editor of more than 500 books and an estimated 9,000 letters and postcards)

* Author Calvin Weir-Field, until he's urged to write down his dreams about ''RubySparks''.

[[quoteright:198:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s_Block_122.png]]

This is very much TruthInTelevision. Writing is not always easy; just ask any {{real life}} author.

[[AC:Comic Books]]

* The {{Sandman}} volume "Dream Country" includes the story "Calliope", about a writer whose first book was a critical smash, but who has writer's block so badly that he can't even start on the follow-up book. He is given the Muse Calliope, and by keeping her captive and raping her repeatedly, he is inspired to great writing. Calliope is released after some time, and when the writer complains that he won't have any ideas without her presence, Morpheus grants him an unending stream of ideas -- there are so many and they come so fast that he goes mad trying to even write them down.

[[AC:Film]]

* In ''Film/HerAlibi'', Blackwood is suffering from a long dry spell in his writing. To resolve it, he goes to the local courthouse to watch the criminal trials and mine ideas, and it's there he meets the enigmatic Nina, who stands accused of murder, and decides to give her an alibi so he can use her presence to fuel the premise of his book.
* This is the story behind the film ''{{Adaptation}}''. The screenwriter got writer's block trying to adapt a book without a story into a film, and ended up [[NestedStory writing a story about a screenwriter with writer's block who is trying to adapt a book without a story into a film]].
* Also the plot of ''StrangerThanFiction'', where Karen Eiffel has a case of it in trying to kill Harold Crick, the main character.

[[AC:Literature]]

[[AC:Newspaper Comics]]

[[AC:Theatre]]
* Happens with Rodolfo in the first act of ''LaBoheme'' just before Mimì first knocks on his door. Rodolfo and Marcello are both afflicted by this in the fourth act (which uses the same music).

[[AC:Webcomics]]

-->- '''HarlanEllison''' referring to IsaacAsimov (writer or editor of more than 500 books and an estimated 9,000 letters and postcards)

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* Like ''CalvinAndHobbes'' above, ''ElGoonishShive'' has a physical big square writer's block show up in some of the non-canon strips. In this case, it's Shive [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] his own writer's block. And once in-story ([[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2006-06-07 sort of]]). He even made two [[http://www.egscomics.com/backgrounds.page?&start=36 backgrounds]] with it.

* In-universe example in AsuNoYoichi. When Chihaya is stuck on new ideas for her manga, she lets Yoichi read one of them, and he tells her that it's very interesting. She then gets excited, and in order to get some new ideas, decides to [[TheTease flirt]] with him a little bit. Although [[ChasteHero he lets her down gently]], she laughs and says she was just joking about it, then [[ClingyJealousGirl her sister Ibuki]] walks in, and Chihaya jokingly lies and says that Yoichi was trying to strip her. HilarityEnsues as Yoichi gets chased by Ibuki.

* In ''TheCityOfDreamingBooks'', the [[TakeOurWordForIt most perfect piece of writing]] is a short story about the author dealing with writer's block.

* The short film ''Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life'' is about Franz Kafka suffering this while he is about to write "TheMetamorphosis".

* An issue of {{Sandman}} followed a writer who had a terrible case of writer's block until his mentor gave him his secret, a muse named Calliope. The writer raped Calliope and started churning out instant best-sellers. Once she's gone, however, he's back to the same state as before.