Writer’s block is really a fear of committing to one narrative path

Evidence

The experienced writer says to the anguished novice: just do it; get something, anything, onto the screen or page, just establish a flow of words, and criticize them later. You give this advice but can’t always take it. You dread setting off down any one narrative path, because you know your choice will make most of the others impossible. Select one, write it, and it begins to seem in some sense preordained, natural, correct; the other options fade from memory. Fear of commitment lies behind the fear of writing. … We don’t want to choose; we want to keep open all the possibilities, fill a lifetime with fresh and less-than-final versions. — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 44

Categorization

• XREF: Directly serves the reader’s goal of understanding Mantel’s writing craft—a causal diagnosis of writer’s block. — connects to: Committing to a structure too early makes flawed writing seem right — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 1078; Writers secretly want interruption to rescue them from their own stalled work — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 42; Writers lack a clear signal that their piece is complete — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 46 (+4 more)
• SEED: The ‘fear of commitment as fear of writing’ angle could anchor an essay on choosing among narrative possibilities.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 44

Broader Connections

• Writers secretly want interruption to rescue them from their own stalled work #corroborates (0.70) — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 42
• Writers make split-second structural decisions during the haste of composition #expands (0.60) — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 1095
• Writers lack a clear signal that their piece is complete #contradicts (0.50) — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 46