Exploring Writer’s Block as Embodied Experience Across the Grades

Abstract

Background or Context: The notion of writer’s block has been primarily conceived and explored as a breakdown in a cognitive writing process (Rose, 1984); yet, for many writers, confronting writer’s block often involves engaging the body through sensations, feelings, movement, and action. However, these considerations have not yet impacted our understanding of writer’s block in the field of literacy education. Given how attention to bodies and theories of embodiment have broadened considerations of literacies, we approach writing and writing processes (including not being able to write) as similarly embodied. Purpose, Objective, Research Question, or Focus of Study: Our purpose is to theorize writer’s block not only as a cognitive phenomenon, but also as an embodied one, and to offer that conceptualization for use in literacy theory, research, and practice. We ultimately argue that viewing writer’s block as an embodied phenomenon opens up possibilities for understanding writer’s block as not only restrictive, but also potentially generative, and can reframe understandings of “struggling” writers. Research Design: Drawing from our research across grades K–12, as well as our own experiences as writers, we present vignettes from elementary, middle school, high school, and adult contexts to illustrate how viewing writer’s block as embodied produces a more nuanced understanding of writers’ experiences. Moreover, because we engaged different research designs and methods for each study, we sought to “think with theory” (Jackson & Mazzei, 2012) across our work, rather than select a traditional qualitative analysis approach that might not have made visible the connections and nuances we sensed. These data and reflections are not intended to serve as complete, standalone case studies, but rather as illustrative examples to clarify our points. Conclusions or Recommendations: A more robust conception of writer’s block as something that is multidimensional (cognitive, social, cultural, affective, embodied, etc.) may allow for a fuller discussion of writing processes, as well as counter deficit assumptions of writers who appear to be “struggling,” including, in particular, Black, Indigenous, and students of color; disabled students; English learners; and other students who tend to be marginalized in official writing classroom contexts. Central to our framework are the following principles: (1) Bodies are an important medium through which writer’s block is recognized and expressed. (2) Writer’s block is socially co-constructed. (3) Writer’s block constitutes an intra-action with the human and nonhuman aspects of writing. (4) Despite appearing “stuck” or off-task, writers’ bodies are constantly charged with energy and possibility. With implications for practice and further research, this framework repositions writer’s block for students, teachers, and researchers from a deficit or remedial issue to an experience of writerly engagement, productivity, and possibility.