Writer's Block: The Cognitive Dimension (Studies in Writing and Rhetoric) - Softcover

Mike Rose (author)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0809311410 ISBN 13: 9780809311415

Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press, 1983

Synopsis

You don’t know what it is,” wrote Flau­bert, to stay a whole day with your head in your hands trying to squeeze your un­fortunate brain so as to find a word.”

Writer’s block is more than a mere matter of discomfort and missed dead­lines; sustained experiences of writer’s block may influence career choices. Writers in the business world, profes­sional writers, and students all have known this most common and least studied dysfunction of the composition process. Rose, however, sees it as a limitable problem that can be precisely analyzed and remedied through instruc­tion and tutorial programs.”

Rose defines writer’s block as an in­ability to begin or continue writing for reasons other than a lack of skill or com­mitment,” which is measured by pas­sage of time with limited functional/ productive involvement in the writing task.” He applies the information pro­cessing models of cognitive psychology to reveal dimensions of the problem never before examined.

In his three-faceted approach, Rose de­velops and administers a questionnaire to identify blockers and nonblockers; through simulated recall, he selects and examines writers experiencing both high and low degrees of blocking; and he proposes a cognitive conceptualization of writer’s block and of the composition process.

In drawing up his model, Rose delin­eates many cognitive errors that cause blocking, such as inflexible or con­flicting planning strategies. He also dis­cusses the practice and strategies that promote effective composition.

About this title

About the Author

Mike Rose is a member of the English Department at UCLA.

Edition details

• Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press
• Publication date: 1983
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0809311410
• ISBN 13: 9780809311415
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 152