This week, I’m going through that nightmare every columnistexperiences at some time or the other — writer’s block. My head is muddled with half-thoughts and my fingers are frozen over my laptop keys. So I decide to try my approach to break free of this most annoying of maladies with research. My plan is to talk to a variety of wordsmiths, and see if they’ve ever had writer’s block. How did they cope?

My first interviewee is the most prolific writer in the last 100 years — William Shakespeare. I meet him in his Stratford on Avon study. “William, old chap, what do you think about writer’s block?” I ask. “Ah, it’s much ado about nothing,” he says. “Fair enough, but in your illustrious career, have you ever had the problem?”