Jayney, if it's any consolation I know exactly how you feel. I have experienced this as well. Although I enjoy my work immensely and feel so grateful that I'm able to do what I enjoy, I have come up against at least one serious (extended) writing block and a few little ones as well. Often the problem is not that you have no ideas but rather too many and don't know where to start. You mention the size of the chapter- focusing on this can bring on paralysis. I find it's better to cut things down into small sections in order to write first, then worry about the structure and fitting things together once it starts to develop. I suspect also that you are a perfectionist. Wanting your writing to be excellent from the outset can make it extremely difficult to 'just start'. Maybe just write freely to begin with, with frequent revisions as you move along- this might loosen things up. Good luck

I've been having a bit of a panicky kind of day, thinking about submission deadlines,how it's so difficult to just start writing, how I should be working harder and for longer hours etc Then I decided to look at some YouTube links friends had sent and found myself stifling uncontrollable laughter, leading to silent stifled-laughter-tears... It felt SO good and seemed to relieve that panic-induced headache. Check these guys out on YouTube: 'Flight of the Conchords', 2 kiwi guys who do hilarious spoofs on different types of songs. See in particular 'Think about it' (Marvin Gaye's 'What's goin on') and 'Rhymenoceros vs Hiphopopotamus' :-)

Olivia! I absolutely love that Gordon Lightfoot song as well and I've never met anyone else who's heard of it. I'm not from the US... and not particularly homesick but it always makes me feel wonderfully nostalgic. Something about having a dollar in his hand, and no place to go... sad but somehow liberating and full of possibility. And what a name! Lightfoot. I always imagine him skipping buoyantly over a puddle or something

This is a daily problem for me too. Like you Eddi, if I work at home too often I start to get a bit depressed from the isolation. It doesn't help that I spend a lot of the day tidying up after housemates in order to make it the perfect study environment. The days I go into uni to work it initially helps to see others working around me but I nearly always end up coming home earlier than intended and with a feeling that I haven't accomoplished much. I think it's important to change scenery regularly and if you are working from home to like your workspace, make sure it is nice and bright, comfy and geared exclusively towards study.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. PS it is comforting to know you're in the same position. It would be great to know how you progress over the next few months- we could egg each other on!! I also came up with a ridiculously tight action plan to show to my superviser recently. The main problem is that I spent most of my second year in a writing block over one particular chapter that I didn't manage to finish. I completed one chapter in my first year so at least that's under the belt. This leaves me with two whole chapters to research and write (although the ideas are there), a devil chapter to go back and tackle, some readjustments to the first chapter (because it was a long time ago and ideas have since mutated a bit), intro and conclusion... all in 6-7 months, eek!

Hi, I'm a third year PhD but brand new to the forum. Although I seem to have wasted a lot of time I still want to complete before my funding runs out in the autumn. I'm very curious to hear similar stories from anyone who intends to tackle their thesis in a final death battle, having left much of the writing to the end, or indeed from anyone who tried and succeeded or failed. Is it realistic/possible/advisable?