Creative Writing Retreat

The Art of Not Getting Stuck

by Erik Cederblom | Aug 25, 2025 | blog post

Writers get stuck. We’ve all had it happen; we want to write something, an article, a book, a short story, a report, a love letter, but the flow of ideas, of language, won’t turn on. “I’ve got writer’s block,” some wail, throw up their hands, and quit. But writing is a mental process, each step requiring different skills. Getting stuck often comes from losing sight of where you are in the process and using the wrong skills to move forward.

The most important advice I can offer? See yourself a writer. If you are part of that small minority of writers earning a livelihood from your craft, you may identify as such. However, many us, earning our livelihood elsewhere, see ourselves as unworthy of the term. If you write, you are a writer, so think like one; act like one. It’s that simple.

Have a place you associate with the act of writing: a desk, a favorite table at a café, a spot in the library, a comfortable chair. When you park yourself there, let your brain reflexively switch to writer mode.

Carve out specific time for your writing. Make it a priority. You schedule time for work, for doctors’ appointments, for dates of all kinds. If writing is important to you, schedule time for it; make it a routine. Writing should bring satisfaction, so this should be easy to do.

Carry a notebook. I usually have a simple, wired-bound notebook and a mechanical pencil with me. I’m old school. I like to hear the quiet rasp and rhythm of a pencil on paper. An iPad or smart phone doesn’t do it for me. It might for you. The objective is to be able to quickly jot down ideas: new stories, scenes, character sketches, turns of phrase, or random thoughts, whenever they occur. The more I use my notebook, the more writing material I have. Do I write every first draft in longhand? No, but I understand why many writers do. I usually jot down a sketchy first draft, then get my stories into my computer, filed logically, and backed up. After that, most of my writing/editing happens on the computer.

Again, recognize that writing is a process, a journey if you will. Like any journey, know your destination. Otherwise, you risk finding yourself in a place you’d rather not be: lost, frustrated, stuck.

Before you put words to page ask yourself: How long a piece am I writing? For whom? Why? For example, the target length for this piece, 800 –1,000 words, meant accepting there’s not enough space for all the ideas I wanted to share. That helped me organize (and prioritize) my thoughts. Then, I imagined I was sharing information with my writers’ group. I knew the tone, and the language, to use. I wrote as if I was having a conversation with friends.

The existential question—why am I writing?—at a table full of writers will lead to a lively discussion. But in practical terms, are you writing to entertain, to inform, to motivate, to instruct, to make the reader think? Right now, I am writing a short piece for my writer friends with the purpose of sharing ideas to help them from getting stuck when writing. There it is. Before I’ve started, the general parameters of this project are clear.

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Here the guidelines I use to write a first draft:

Intention: What am I writing? For whom? How much space? Due when?

Destination: Where am I going? Writing the ending tells me whether I’m on the correct path. But if that is not your style, begin with a vivid scene or idea and let the writing discover its own direction, allowing room for surprise and flexibility.

Creation: I need to get the story out of my head. I am most productive when I blaze through what Ann Lamott calls a “shitty first draft.” I don’t edit on the fly. I let my ideas run wild, ignoring grammar, punctuation, and word choice. I capture my ideas and tame them later.

Fermentation: After the first draft, I let it sit. I clear my mind, do something unrelated. I try to let go of it for a day, a week, whatever it takes. Ideas pop into my mind. I jot them down, but refrain from getting into editing.

Revision/Editing: I always approach editing with a happy heart because this is where the real writing happens. We writers need the same creative energy we used when gathering ideas or writing the first draft, but now we must rein in that part of your brain that raced from idea to idea and focus instead on cutting everything that doesn’t contribute. Now is the time for revisions, deletions, turns of phrase, expanded ideas, character development, and refined imagery.

Validation: I don’t trust myself to be the final editor. The mind plays tricks. I often miss the obvious in my own work. I always try to give my writing to someone I trust for their requisite experience for knowledgeable, constructive feedback, and/or wait until I have time—days or weeks—and return and re-edit. How many of us have wished we could edit something already submitted for publication?

Jodi Picoult summed it up nicely: “You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.”

Be creative in capturing your ideas. No matter how you do it, get them on paper. Know where you are going when you write. Give yourself enough time to come back to your first draft with an open mind. Pretend you are editing someone else’s writing. Be kind to yourself, but be direct and honest. Have your editor’s voice tell your writer’s brain where things went astray. You are a writer. You probably know the solution and where you are in the process. Enjoy the ride.