In her altogether wonderful Washington Post conversation, New Yorker staff writer Susan Orlean this reality-check:

If you’ve got writer’s block, you don’t have writer’s block. You have reporter’s block. You only are having trouble writing because you don’t actually yet know what you’re trying to say, and that usually means you don’t have enough information. That’s the signal to walk away from the keyboard, think about what it is that you don’t really know yet, and go do that reporting.

Also see Orlean’s advice on writing – part of this evolving library of notable advice on the craft – and Lewis Carroll’s three tips on overcoming creative block, then revisit contemporary artists' tricks for getting unstuck.