Rationalizing Writer's Block

I have always been a reader, but I don't think I can say I have always been a writer. I have read that good writers are also avid readers, and when I was younger (say ten years ago) that was enough. I could feel good about reading and not writing because I could consider it some form of study and preparation. I am using the same rationalization all over again, but this time I wonder if it applies as much as it used to.

When I was younger and writing I became good at one thing, description. I won't say I was better than anyone else at description, but I will say my descriptions improved to the point where they were remarkable among my stories. It's no small wonder that my descriptions were the only things to remark about my stories, as there was very little story to be had. I spent my time reading books and learning how to describe things; I would look around me, examine my surroundings, and even suss out my feelings and find ways to describe them all. I think I have achieved some level of success in all this effort and feel sure I can describe any situation, feeling, and even paint a mood if needed.

If stories were but a mere collection of descriptions hung together by characters doing something unremarkable I would be fulfilled as a writer. Stories are about people and conflicts (though I may be oversimplifying here) and it has only been in the last couple of years that I have been taking note of such things. These days when I read a book, or listen to a book, or watch a movie or TV show, I find that I'm examining plots, conflicts, and characters. I've begun to note when characters do things out of the ordinary for them; I can now see how plots unfold and what things should happen next. In short, I am growing and developing as a writer.

I'd like to think my time spent reading, listening, and observing is an act of studying and not pure entertainment. I'd like to believe that I am growing better as a writer by doing these things, and I probably am, but how can I tell? A writer who doesn't write is like a painter who doesn't paint. I have to write in order to be a writer, and I have to write in order to know if I am improving as a writer. It is encouraging to note that I am able to see things in stories I had never seen before, but that does not mean I am a better writer, just a more aware audience. Still, I want to believe I am (or will be) a better writer for it.