6 Reasons You Feel Stuck in Writer's Block and How to Move Forward

I hate the term “writer’s block” but I used it anyway because it’s a shorthand most writers are familiar with. But I believe most of what writers think is writer’s block actually comes from a lack of story planning. And I’d argue you need story planning whether you’re a plotter or a pantser or a plantser.

Story planning does not mean you plan out every single chapter. (Well, maybe for some—but not the way I do it.) It also doesn’t mean there’s no room for spontaneity and creativity. Story planning is simply getting clarity on the foundations of the story you’re trying to tell so you’re able to write a cohesive draft.

You would never decide to build a structure without even knowing if you were building a house or a shed or a skyscraper or a stadium. Those would all require different decisions to be made along the way. And if you decided to just wing it and see what you’d end up with…well, it would probably never pass building codes.

Planning matters when it comes to your novel too. Fortunately with a story we can go back during the revision process to fix things.

But time and again I’ve seen how writing without story planning makes the revision process so much more painful.

It’s also why some writers struggle to even complete their first draft.

So today I want to share 5 stumbling blocks that originate in story planning—or lack thereof—that I’ve seen trip writers up many times.

But wait? Didn’t I say I’d be sharing 6 reasons?

I did! And that’s because, while I think so much of what’s attributed to writer’s block is actually poor story planning, I also know there are true writing blocks, and I think those stem from your mindset.

I’m actually certain a host of writing blocks stem from your state of mind. There are so many, in fact, that’s not just another post—that’s probably a whole nother Substack. But today I want to touch on one important mindset issue I so often see interfering with writing progress.

Okay, let’s dive into 6 reasons I frequently see hindering story-writing…

Why does this particular story matter to you right now? Is this story meaningful enough to you? Do you just need to tap into that meaning? If you’re familiar with Jennie Nash’s Blueprint for a Book methodology (which I’m certified to teach), this is what we call your deep-level why.

We humans are a creative bunch. We get ideas all the time, but only certain ones really stick. So, what is it about THIS story idea that makes you want to share it? One big hint…it has to do with why you feel personally connected to this story. It’s always personal…that’s why the story won’t leave you alone.

Author and Stanford University creative writing teacher Alice LaPlante in her fantastic book, The Making of Story, talks about “the need to write about what matters.” She emphasizes if a story doesn’t emotionally resonate for us personally, if we aren’t totally fascinated by it ourselves, then the story will never truly land on the page for the reader. In other words, if you can’t even convince yourself this story matters, you’re never going to be able to engage your reader.

👉 SOLUTION: Dig into your why. Perhaps you already know why you connect to this story, and you just haven’t let that seep onto the page yet. But if you don’t yet know, I recommend free writing by hand to explore these questions: Why do you feel compelled to share this story? When did this story idea first come to you? Was there something you encountered that inspired you or brought you to this particular story? Why do you believe this story resonates with you on a personal level?

Your story point serves as the destination of your story. It’s your reader’s main take-away and it aligns with your protagonist’s character arc. In other words, how your protagonist grows and what they learn by the end of the story synchs up with your story point. It’s also often (though not always) related to your deep-level why.

If you haven’t pinpointed your story point, your story may meander and go nowhere, and eventually you as the writer feel just as lost. And if you do make it to the end, you’ll likely struggle to deliver a satisfying ending as this inherently aligns with your story point.

Ideally you nail down your story point before you start writing. But maybe you skipped that stage or perhaps just didn’t know it yet. I’ve worked with plenty of writers who didn’t know to be doing this when they completed their draft. Not to worry—you can still dig into this now and ensure this is on track in revision.

👉 SOLUTION: Pinpoint your story point. What underlying message do you want readers to take away from your story? If you’re not sure, think about where your protagonist will be at the story’s end and how they will grow and change. Your story point aligns with your protagonist’s ending character arc.

READ MORE: I’ve written more about nailing down your story point here.

This is a common issue I see in manuscripts where a writer hasn’t engaged in any story planning. There may be a lot of things happening on the page, but they don’t always build on previous scenes so the plot points are disconnected.

When there is no cause and effect sequencing, one scene does not lead directly to the next, and the plot points can feel contrived rather than inevitable. If you’re sitting down to write and thinking, “Now what happens?”, you probably haven’t built a strong enough cause and effect trajectory into your story.

👉 SOLUTION: Ensure your scenes are falling dominoes. Each scene should generally be a direct consequence of the preceding scene(s) or be a complication that arises out of the preceding scene(s). You want it to feel like each scene is inevitable because of what’s already happened in the story. You want to structure your story so if you remove a specific scene, the surrounding scenes no longer make sense and fall apart.

READ MORE: I rely on a great trick for determining this, which my friend and fellow book coach Monica Cox explains beautifully here.

If you haven’t spent enough time learning your main character, digging into their backstory, and understanding their beliefs or how they make sense of the world, you’re going to struggle to know how they will react to the current situation they find themselves in.

Characters are like people—everything we experience in real time, we filter through all of our previous life experiences. You need to know how those experiences shaped your protagonist, and you need to know their arc of transformation, i.e., how they will change by story’s end, which you’ll recall, aligns with your story point as I shared above in #2. (I just love how all the pieces fit together like a puzzle!)

👉 SOLUTION: Delve into what makes your protagonist tick. This includes their world view, misguided beliefs, external wants and internal needs, external and internal conflicts (i.e., what’s standing in the way of getting those wants and needs met), and what they stand to lose (i.e, stakes).

READ MORE: How acting like a therapist for your protagonist can help you dig deeply enough to bring your characters and all their idiosyncrasies to life on the page.

Stories need to have emotional resonance for us, and that’s true for writers as well as readers. The emotional context focuses on the internal plot of the story—it’s the personal growth journey the protagonist is experiencing that moves them along their arc of transformation.

Sometimes writers focus only on the external plot—the unfolding events in the story. But if we aren’t privy to the emotional context of these plot points—how the protagonist is making sense of these unfolding events and filtering them through their life experiences—then we don’t see enough emotional depth on the page to be emotionally invested in the story. (Which, by the way, nearly always leads to an unsatisfying story ending.)

If readers don’t understand what the events mean to the protagonist, we’re simply not able to be emotionally invested in the story. And if you haven’t given enough thought to your story’s emotional context, the story is probably falling just as flat for you as the author. When that happens, you’re likely to find yourself bored rather than eager to dig into your next scene.

👉 SOLUTION: This solution builds on all of the other solutions I’ve shared above. You need to know why this story is deeply meaningful to you (#1). You need to know the point of your story (#2) because this aligns with your protagonist’s ending character arc, or how they have changed by the end of the story. And you need to be clear on your narrative trajectory (#3) and your protagonist (#4) because the emotional context is where your external plot meets character development—you can only get the emotional context onto the page if you know how your protagonist will react to the unfolding events.

For each of the significant plot points, determine how your protagonist is filtering these through their own lived experiences, beliefs, and personal stakes so you can get that emotional context onto the page.

Okay, this is where we pivot from story planning and turn the spotlight onto you. Because maybe it’s not the story at all, my friend. Maybe it’s you. Or rather, maybe it’s your mindset right now.

In my opinion, this is the one reason I’ve shared here that truly causes writer’s block. Life gets heavy. We get burned out. And you can’t create when you haven’t replenished your own creative well.

👉 SOLUTION: This is, of course, a much bigger conversation, but here are a few of my favorite ways to help jumpstart creative energy again:

• Get sensory input from the world around you as the brilliant Julia Cameron recommends with Artist Dates (see The Artist’s Way): Visit a museum or a botanic garden. Explore an antique shop or a used record store. Explore a section of your library. Find whatever moves you.

• Read or listen to inspiring content. This world can feel especially hard right now and we need to be mindful of the voices we let into our minds and what they’re saying.

• But be sure to balance that with your own inner voice by saving quiet time to reflect—no music, podcast or audiobook to distract you. Bonus points if you can spend this time in nature.

• Dabble in another creative endeavor: try painting, gardening, dance, jewelry-making, etc.

READ MORE: Steal these creativity secrets from scientists and designers.

Finally if you still feel really stuck, you need to ask yourself if you want to continue writing this story right now. Maybe you shelf it and revisit it later.

But also…you don’t have to finish every story you start writing. Sometimes the purpose a story serves may not be to entertain a reader. Sometimes it’s what it gives to you—the enjoyment of writing, the practice of bettering your skills.

There is no shame in deciding a story has already given you what you need and moving on to the next one. Just let that be an intentional decision.

Most writers don’t struggle to start a manuscript.
They struggle to finish it.

A book coach can make all the difference.

Let’s talk!

I’m Heather Garbo…I’m a certified book coach for upmarket, book club and women’s fiction writers (re)discovering their writing voices in midlife. My story planning, drafting and revision methodology empowers aspiring novelists to transform fledgling ideas and messy manuscripts into engaging stories…because no woman should regret not pursuing her creative dreams nor doubt the value of her voice. Learn how to work with me at www.garbobookcoaching.com.