9.1 Avoiding writer’s block

During every big project, researchers may find themselves at some stage confronted by a blank screen and a blank mind. For some, this experience can lead to real emotional anxiety and a kind of intellectual paralysis. In response, the best advice is not to work in complete isolation.

Ultimately, much researching and almost all writing are processes which are undertaken by individuals on their own – the growing number of collective projects notwithstanding. But if these tasks are done with positive support from a community of fellow researchers – and pursued within regular and well-monitored writing deadlines – the pressures are lightened.¹ That’s why students should remain in close touch not only with their supervisors but also with their peer group. And a good means of remaining in contact with others is to participate actively in a regular academic seminar (see chapter 14).

At the same time, common sense advises that due care should always be taken to remain physically and mentally well. Active, agile minds need a bit of exercise, as do the bodies they inhabit. So all the good advice, dispensed to the world in general, is equally relevant for researchers. It’s sensible to sleep deeply, eat sensibly and refrain from smoking, taking drugs and drinking alcohol to excess. And it’s worth recollecting that the myths about booze and creativity are indeed myths.²

Stirring physical activities form a positive and integral counterpart to intellectual efforts.³ Exercising regularly is particularly valuable. It constantly recharges both mental and physical batteries. Many authors report upon the benefits they get from repetitive, rhythmic activities which do not require much conscious self-direction, such as swimming, riding, running, going to the gym and walking. And for those who cannot undertake strenuous exercise, or find time to go for a walk, then gentle stretching has significant health benefits.⁴ Doing as much as possible is the key, allowing for different individual circumstances. Such repetitive and ‘mindless’ bodily exercises allow the conscious mind to rest and set the subconscious free to mull over problems, in a non-linear way. Often after a period of such lateral thinking, an answer to a contentious issue will present itself unbidden. And, even if not, the complexities have been explored and can be explained to others.

All repetitive exercises have a positive effect if sustained for at least half an hour – daily. But, to repeat, fitness is recommended as a help, but certainly not as a pre-requisite, for historians. The admirable Margaret Spufford, who coped stoically with ill-health all her life, also managed to write path-breaking historical studies. She provides an outstanding example of the power of the mind (with loving support from her family) to triumph over adversity.⁵ In sum, therefore, researchers are encouraged to seek the mental benefits of suitable exercise, within the bounds of their personal circumstances.

9.2 Myths and realities of writer’s block

From time to time, however, some writers feel creatively locked. It’s not a good state of mind, although it should be stressed that it’s not an inevitable stage of research. It used to be more common, before methods of supervision were tightened. The authors of this Guide view writing as a craft skill, which can be learned and polished without too much anxiety.

Yet momentum can at times be lost. And, left untreated, writer’s block can lead to frustration, guilt, irritable self-chastisement and various degrees of despair.⁶ Blocked writers particularly wince when bystanders ask cheerfully: ‘How’s the writing going?’ Their probing goodwill has the effect of pressing upon a tender bruise. And, while casual enquiries can be deflected, things get worse if close friends and family continue to enquire reproachfully: ‘Why isn’t it done yet?’

Some blocked writers cannot even bear to admit the existence of a difficulty, while others tell everyone. Neither response is helpful. Creative agony can be very debilitating. It can make people physically ill or socially depressive. There are well-known fictional exemplars. In George Eliot’s Middlemarch (1871/2), the unwritten masterpiece of the learned Dr Casaubon becomes a groaning incubus which blights his marriage and all his relationships. His quest for a ‘perfect’ and fully comprehensive study has filled him with a sapping dread of failure.⁷ There are also well-documented real-life cases. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wry account of his inability to write in The Crack-Up (1936) is as painful to read as he meant it to be.⁸ And later, the blocked travel-writer Patrick Leigh Fermor, who wrote two splendid books of a planned trilogy, fretted for years over his failure to complete the third.⁹

These cases carry an implicit warning that the problem, left unchecked, grows worse, not better. But it is important not to become too tragic about writer’s block. A programme of regular writing, for regular inspection by a helpful supervisor, should prevent the problem from developing (as explained in chapter 3).

Ultimately, people tend to write what they want to write. One eminent Victorian sage who is often quoted in this context was Lord Acton, the Regius Professor of History at Cambridge. His ‘History of Liberty’ became famed for never being written, despite a lifetime of planning. Instead, it was Acton’s essays and epigrams, many of them published posthumously, which have survived. In particular, one key maxim is widely quoted to this day. Acton’s warning that ‘[All] power tends to corrupt; and absolute power corrupts absolutely’¹⁰ has reached far more people than the rest of his work. Thus, brief but apt contributions have a role. Acton’s distinguished academic life was by no means a disaster. Authors have varied work preferences, and produce very varied outputs – a key point always worth bearing in mind.

9.3 Moments for reassessment

In general, then, researchers should watch their step, in order not to fall into what John Bunyan identified as ‘the Slough of Despond’ that lurks to trap the unwary on life’s journey.¹¹ However, should a period of blockage develop, then it’s best to take stock instantly. Letting the problem fester only makes it worse. An immediate question is whether the blockage, in reality, means that the researcher really wants to do something else entirely. In practice, it’s not always possible to change. Nonetheless, a proportion of blocked people who do switch projects mid-stream find that the move can unleash hitherto thwarted energy. A blockage in one direction may thus dissolve once the route has been changed.

Alternatively, another step is to reassess the nature of the writing task, around which the blockage has formed. Can the exposition be done in a different way? Taking time out to reconsider and replan can promote renewal. And, if the blockage relates to one big section of the argument, it’s worth checking whether the task can be sub-divided into many discrete and smaller components. Breaking down an apparently forbidding ‘mountain’ of work into manageable chunks can immediately reduce the problem.

One variant of that stratagem invites the researcher to assemble the underlying evidence and quotations in a sequence that makes an argument. It’s the equivalent of creating a framework which can then be filled in gradually, rather than all in a rush. Step-by-step writing is a good way of demystifying the production process.

Practically, too, it can be helpful to have a break from past locations which are associated with anguish and failure. A new venue for writing or a significant new arrangement of an established work area can be used as a marker of recovery and renewal. Whatever works.

Meanwhile, it must not be overlooked that writing problems may be symptomatic of deeper psychological problems. If expert help is seriously required, then there is only benefit from seeking professional assistance without delay. Supervisors and friends can help up to a point; but they are not trained therapists. All higher education institutions these days have dedicated support services with mental health professionals. The old taboos about admitting the need for mental health counselling are dissolving. If necessary, therefore, researchers should not hesitate to get professional help. The depth of writers’ despair over their inability to write is often a tribute to their basic motivation – and their annoyance that things have stalled. As a result, getting practical help can turn these moments of reassessment into fruitful turning-points.

9.4 Expressive writing therapy

A writing therapy that works for many people, but not for all, can also be tried at this point. It invites researchers to pen, rapidly and spontaneously, a stream-of-consciousness memorandum, which is not to be viewed by any other person. In other words, it’s a form of auto-communing on paper. Often blocked writing turns out to be caused by genuinely tricky intellectual issues. Much historical analysis requires juggling multiple themes and many forms of evidence all at once. Managing to pull everything together can prove overwhelming. Thoughts go round and round, without cohering. And a small stumbling block can become slowly magnified into something much larger.

Writing a stream-of-consciousness (known for short as a ‘streamo’) should be done in an unstructured style. Grammatical faults and spelling mistakes can remain uncorrected. No-one else need ever see this screed. It inverts the problem of not writing by writing a large amount very quickly. And it’s devised as a way of interrogating one’s own thoughts: What is the basic problem that is causing this block? Is it this? Is it that? It may well take a long time to work through all the issues. But that’s all to the good. Simply sitting and musing on problems is not sufficiently disciplined. The mind flits too readily from topic to topic. Torrential writing is intended to dredge up thoughts and then to examine them. In this way, blocked authors are not asked to write measured and publishable prose – which is proving too hard a task. Instead, they are encouraged to unleash words and thoughts chaotically.

Sometimes people prefer to write their streamos in the form of detailed jottings. Others find that listed points, which are very helpful when summarizing tasks to be done, are not as productive as consecutive prose for assessing intellectual difficulties. However, any form of rapid writing will do. Having undertaken such intellectual self-pummelling, researchers will discover whether the problem at the heart of the difficulty was mundane or complex. Either way, it’s a relief to know. Researchers sigh to themselves: ‘So that’s it’. Then the mind signals to itself that it is time to quit the blockage. Authors can resume their main writing task, armed with fresh thoughts and new answers. They can point explicitly to the relevant intellectual problem – and explain how it can be resolved. It takes a bit of time to get a critical distance on one’s own problems. Yet there’s poetic justice in this method.

After a period of intensive self-examination, unblocked by rapid free writing, the difficulty can then become simply an issue for analysis within the overall discussion. Thus a helpful general rule states that: if there is a problem, then researchers do well not to brood on it – but instead to write it down.

To repeat, stream-of-consciousness memoranda can play a useful role in intellectual unblocking. These techniques are advocated in therapy as a powerful means of mental release and finding of inner calm.¹² Such formats also have a known place in fiction, whereby people’s inner worlds are illuminated by a stream-of-consciousness.¹³ Of course, it cannot be claimed that one method of unblocking will help everyone equally. But getting a realistic insight into one’s own inner world can help to demystify the romantic ‘agony’ and to turn recovery into a practical exercise.

9.5 Summary: historical research and lifestyle choices

Becoming a historian is ultimately a lifestyle choice as well as everything else. Researching, writing, debating, exercising and keeping as fit as possible (given personal circumstances) ideally go together as a combined package.

Therefore, writing blockages, if encountered, should be tackled as soon as possible. Energy then floods in once the obstacles have been cleared. It goes without saying that it is best not to have such problems. Yet, if things do go wrong, there are known ways of coping.

Moreover, those who have recovered have learned a key lesson in surmounting difficulties. Lord Acton once remarked pointedly, perhaps with some personal reference while not writing his long-expected big book: ‘Praise is the shipwreck of historians’.¹⁴ Conversely, those who have nearly capsized through agony, doubt and self-blame have suffered the reverse of praise. Too much criticism and auto-criticism can also be shipwrecking. Yet overcoming intellectual doubt and adversity is supremely educational. It can not only rekindle but positively enhance the research flame.

1. 1  S. Johnson, The Writer’s Toolkit: Banish the Curse of Writer’s Block (Pershore, 2005).

2. 2  D. W. Goodwin, Alcohol and the Writer (Kansas City, Mo., 1988).

3. 3  K. O’Neill (ed.), Bringing Together Physical and Mental Health: a New Frontier for Integrated Care (London, 2016); L. C. W. Lam et al. (ed.), Physical Exercise Interventions for Mental Health (Cambridge, 2019).

4. 4  S. Martin, Stretching: the Stress-Free Way to Stay Supple, Keep Fit and Exercise Safely (London, 2005).

5. 5  M. Spufford, Contrasting Communities: English Villagers in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (Cambridge, 1974); M. Spufford, Small Books and Pleasant Histories: Popular Fiction and Its Readership in Seventeenth-Century England (London, 1981); M. Spufford, The Great Reclothing of Rural England: Petty Chapmen and Their Wares in the Seventeenth Century (London, 1984); M. Spufford, Figures in the Landscape: Rural Society in England, 1500–7000 (Aldershot, 2000); and, published after her death, M. Spufford and S. Mee, The Clothing of the Common Sort, 1570–1700 (New York, 2017).

6. 6  A. W. Flaherty, The Midnight Disease: the Drive to Write, Writer’s Block, and the Creative Brain (Boston, Mass., 2004); J. Flanders, Writer’s Block (London, 2014).

7. 7  G. Eliot, Middlemarch (London, 1871/2): there has been much speculation about the real-life original, if any, of Dr Casaubon. Most commentators view him as a dry old stick, who is a blight upon his ardent young wife. But for a bravura counter-attack, see N. Ascherson, ‘The truth about Casaubon: a great intellect destroyed by a silly woman’, The Independent, 20 Feb. 1994: <https://web.archive.org/web/20201218134927/http://www.independent.co.uk:80/voices/the-truth-about-casaubon-a-great-intellect-destroyed-by-a-silly-woman-1395385.html> [accessed 9 Feb. 2022].

8. 8  F. S. Fitzgerald, The Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Vol. II: the Crack-Up with Other Pieces and Stories (Harmondsworth, 1965), pp. 39–56.

9. 9  Published posthumously from his notebooks: see P. L. Fermor, The Broken Road: From the Iron Gates to Mount Athos, ed. C. Thubron and A. Cooper (London, 2013), following A Time of Gifts (London, 1977) and Between the Woods and the Water (London, 1986).

10. 10  Letter from Lord Acton (April 1887) in Historical Essays and Studies by John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, ed. J. N. Figgis and R. V. Laurence (London, 1907), p. 504. For context, see also O. Chadwick, Acton and History (Cambridge, 1998).

11. 11  An evocative concept from the classic J. Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress (London, 1678).

12. 12  H. M. Vyner, The Healthy Mind: Mindfulness, the True Self and the Stream of Consciousness (London, 2018); H. S. Schroder, T. P. Moran and J. S. Moser, ‘The effect of expressive writing on the error-related negativity among individuals with chronic worry’, Psychophysiology, lv (2018): <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319558646> [accessed 3 May 2021].

13. 13  See, eg, R. Humphrey, Stream of Consciousness in the Modern Novel (Berkeley, Calif., 1954; Cambridge, 1958).

14. 14  J. E. E. Dalberg-Acton, ‘The study of history: inaugural lecture’ (London, 1895), in Dalberg-Acton, Lectures on Modern History (London, 1930 edn), p. 28.