Writer's Block

In sport it is called "lack/out of form" (19,000 hits in Google), those who write for a living call it "writer's block" (158,000 hits). In the middle of the process of trying to write a paper for a major conference I seem to be hit by writer's block, perhaps. One of the problems, in this particular case, is that the paper is about a software tool that is so convincing, writing a paper about it does not actually seem to add anything.

Rogier and some others suggested putting the tool in the public domain, that probably attracts more readers/users than the paper ever would. This may be true, but I like challenges and am going for the paper anyway, despite slow progress. Do I have writer's block? If I have, then writer's block is situated. Writing a long abstract for another paper caused no problem whatsoever (although Rogier and Lilia succeeded in improving upon my draft).

I do not have writer's block! The real problem is that writing a paper about a tool changes the viewpoint completely. When turning ideas into programs, I'm in full control, like a car mechanic. When writing a paper about the tool, I turn into a car salesperson. And once two completely different roles come together in the same person, a mental turmoil results. The good thing, after the turmoil settles, is that whether I succeed in finishing the paper in time or not, many ideas to improve the tool have accumulated.

While wasting some bandwidth I cannot resist replicating a sonnet by Goethe (1802). It wraps things up much more nicely than I ever could.

"Natur und Kunst sie scheinen sich zu fliehen,
Und haben sich, eh' man es denkt, gefunden;
Der Widerwille ist auch mir verschwunden,
Und beide scheinen gleich mich anzuziehen.

Es gilt wohl nur ein redliches Bemühen!
Und wenn wir erst in abgemess'nen Stunden
Mit Geist und Fleiß uns an die Kunst gebunden,
Mag frei Natur im Herzen wieder glühen.

So ist's mit aller Bildung auch beschaffen:
Vergebens werden ungebundne Geister
Nach der Vollendung reiner Höhe streben.

Wer Großes will muß sich zusammenraffen;
In der Beschränkung zeigt sich erst der Meister,
Und das Gesetz nur kann uns Freiheit geben."