I’ve been reflecting recently on some forms of creative block that aren’t actually creative block. And so maybe, I shouldn’t even call them forms of creative block. What to call them then? Things that seem like creative block but aren’t? Extrinsic blocks to creative exercise or completion?

Whatever the case, it seemed interesting enough to share, and perhaps relevant beyond that. So here are five such forms, described briefly. The first two might actually be creative block, but for very specific reasons. The final three, however, are not truly creative block, which is both interesting and potentially useful to understand.

1. You’re unable to exercise your creativity, but this is only because you’ve been doing a lot of creative work, and just need to take a breather. This is maybe not really a block, since it’s more like needing to rest a muscle, get some sleep, or charge a battery. In other words, it’s part of the normal “use” and functioning of a person’s creative capacity. We just need to respect and accommodate creativity’s need not to always be “on.”

2. You aren’t able to imagine what you would need to be able to imagine, in order to further develop or complete the work. I have noticed this with story-writing, mainly, which is to say in some literature (fiction) that I’ve read. For example, the way in which Isaac Asimov was never able to complete the Foundation story arc. I strongly suspect the idea was just too big, and needed to develop in a direction so far beyond — so different — than what any human could have the ability to imagine.

I would say that (2) is a block, but that it is a block on a specific creative project, not a general block of your creativity. Also, it may not be fixable in some cases. It may sometimes be a matter of something which exceeds human ability, in which case again, it is a fact regarding that project or human creativity in general, rather than your specific creative capacity.

3. General burnout. This can block the creative capacity, but that is because it is blocking your capacities overall. So it is not a specifically creative block. There may be nothing wrong with or impeding your creativity specifically, the creative block is just part of a generalized ability block.

4. Creative time doesn’t exist. Simply not having time. This is not actually creative block, just something that makes it impossible to engage in creative process of production. There isn’t necessarily a “solution” either. You may simply need to wait until some other obligations in life are discharged.

5. Creative time exists, but is too broken up to be effectively utilized. In this case, you can find some time in which to engage in creative work. The problem is that the increments of available time are not very long, and/or have too large a span of time between them. This too is in some sense a creative block that isn’t a creative block.

On a more personal note, a combination (3), (4), and (5) — though not necessarily all at once — has kept me from publishing much in recent months. In fact (5) nearly prevented the present piece from becoming completed and published.

I wonder if understanding the nature of this can help me adjust my process and expectations? Probably.

Aside from that, I find this an interesting type of phenomenon, the creative block which is not intrinsically a creative block.

Additionally, maybe realizing that it is not your creative capacity itself which is blocked, but some more extrinsic factor interfering with its ability to be exercised, might at least alleviate a certain kind of worry. I mean the worry where you think, “Oh no, I’m a person who relies on my creative capacity, and my creative capacity isn’t working!” If it’s instead something extrinsic to your creativity, then at least that particular worry can be alleviated.