If writing feels impossible right now… it might not be because you’re stuck. It might be because you’re trying to do everything at once. Here is a simple reset (no pressure, no complicated systems).
There’s a kind of stuck that feels very convincing.
You sit down to write… and nothing happens.
So you assume: “I’m stuck.”
But if you pause for a second and actually look at what your brain is trying to do in that moment, it’s usually something like this:
- write the scene
- fix the last scene
- decide where the story is going
- make it sound good
- question whether the idea works
- think about the ending
- compare it to something better
All at once.
No wonder nothing’s moving.
This Isn’t a Lack of Ability
It’s not that you don’t know how to write. It’s that you’re trying to do six different writing jobs at the same time, and your brain… doesn’t love that.
Cognitive load research shows that when too many tasks compete for attention, performance drops and decision-making slows down.
They call this Cognitive Load Theory, which is a very academic way of saying: Your brain gets overwhelmed and quietly opts out.
What “Stuck” Usually Looks Like
It can feel like:
- staring at the same paragraph
- rewriting the first few lines repeatedly
- jumping between documents
- avoiding the next scene entirely
It looks like procrastination, b most of the time, it’s overload.
The Real Problem
You’re not stuck. You’re trying to write, edit, plan, evaluate, and predict the future of your story …in the same moment.
That’s not one task.
That’s a pile.
Instead of trying to “fix” being stuck… separate the jobs.
Not permanently. Just for now.
Try This (Genuinely Simple)
When you sit down to write, decide: What am I doing in this session?
Choose only one. For example:
- “I’m writing the next scene.”
- “I’m fixing dialogue.”
- “I’m figuring out the ending.”
Yes, only one.
Then, when your brain recognises the task, it will stop trying to do everything else at once, which reduces that “I don’t know where to start” feeling.
The Queensland Writers Centre often highlights breaking writing into manageable steps as a key way to move past overwhelm. This process is exactly that.
Then something small but important happens. You start to move.
Not perfectly, but forward.
And once something moves, the pressure shifts.
You’re no longer thinking about writing. You’re in it.
The Part That Feels Uncomfortable
You’ll probably still want to fix things mid-sentence, jump ahead, and rethink everything.
That’s normal. Just notice it and come back to the one thing you chose.
If Everything Still Feels Too Big
Make the task smaller.
Not: “write the scene”, but: “write the first few lines”, or even: “describe what’s happening”.
Progress doesn’t need to be impressive.
It just needs to exist.
A Quiet Reality Check
A lot of writers aren’t stuck because they lack ideas. They’re stuck because they’re trying to handle all of them—and all the decisions—at once.
That’s not a writing problem.
That’s a workload problem.
So if that is you, you are not stuck.
You’re overloaded.
And the way out isn’t more thinking, or more pressure. It’s less.
One task.
One step.
One piece at a time.
That’s how things start moving again.
References and Further Reading
- Cognitive Load Theory – Managing mental load and task complexity
- Queensland Writers Centre – Writing process and reducing overwhelm
- Australian Writers’ Centre – Drafting and productivity guidance