writer's block

Many years ago, I attended a lecture by Elmore Leonard at the Detroit Working Writers/Oakland University annual conference (it was actually the Detroit Women Writers at the time). Leonard was insightful, but not particularly "warm" as he delivered his remarks. During the post-lecture Q&A, one poor unfortunate young man asked "How do you deal with writer's block?" Leonard glared at him and said "Writer's block? Writer's block? You either want to write or you don't."

While it was very uncomfortable and particularly uncomfortable for the young man who'd asked the question, I've never forgotten it because I think he really hit the nail on the head. We do either want to write or not and we really have to ask ourselves whether we want to write or whether we want "to have written." Is it the writing or is it what comes after the book has been written, is sold, is successful, and brings us some form of validation?