What do you want to say instead?
Great. Follow that. Because "stuck" is kinda bullsh*t
Often, I find that when writers report being stuck in non-fiction, the issue is never about the work. Stuck, as a concept, might as well not exist because it’s hardly ever about really “being stuck,” but usually about being some combination of afraid to say the real thing, not trusting yourself to say the thing, or simply not looking at the big picture of the story. Not always. But often enough to be pretty damn often.
So, today, think about where in your writing you might be telling yourself you’re “stuck” and interrogate the ever-loving shit out of that to find out what’s really going on.
If helpful, rip a piece of paper out of a notebook and tell it, “you, paper will self-destruct!” and proceed to free write what you’d really like to say, only with the intention that you’re going to rip the paper to shreds when you’re finished so nobody can ever know whatever it is you really want to say if you don’t want to share it.
Most likely, you’ll unblock something juicy underneath that “stuck”-ness.
One thing is for sure: inaction when feeling “stuck” is probably not the cure for it. There’s something to be said for stepping away from a project when you need to, but train yourself to view the act of shrugging “eh, I’m stuck” as a fib, and one ripe for delivering a breakthrough if action is applied.
One way to work with me if you are telling yourself that you’re “stuck” is The Seen AF Method, my 6-month hybrid project of in-depth writing prompts focused on your creative identity + weekly live group Zoom coaching sessions to help writers and other people doing creative work build compounding visibility and momentum in their work. It’s not about “getting you famous” but about figuring out your vision for how you want your career to look and making inroads to orient it around that vision very quickly.
Learn more about the whole thing here, and/or book a chat with me about it here to see if it’s a good fit for the era you’re in right now. Folks from Substack who register also get a bonus 1:1 “unfuck your creative project” call with me to use anytime you need it.