We all have moments when writing our story where we get a little bit…well…stuck.

The words are just not flowing like they usually do.

You're writing something, but none of it feels like it's building the scene you envisioned.

You start a new chapter and spend hours just staring at the blank page, unable to visualize what's happening next, let alone write it!

It's not necessarily a full creative block. It's just that your story is not moving forward.

You just feel...

Yeah...stuck...

This is one of the most frustrating parts of being a writer by far! I find that a lot of us get this "stuckness" (yes, that's a word now) while writing a first draft. It's in the bare bones of a story without the muscle, flesh, and sinew. Much of what it looks like is still unknown to us.

There are so many things that can be causing us to get stuck while writing.

And if you've been in this place before, you've probably had another writer, whether in-person or online, tell you the exact same thing: just keep writing.

Like me, you've rolled your eyes and ripped out a few strands of your hair each time someone suggested this. It's not bad advice, but, for some of us, it simply does not work. We can't just "move on" when we feel so trapped in this puzzle of our making. It's even harder when we feel deeply discouraged and upset with ourselves for not being able to write the story we feel called to tell. This can lead us to believe so many lies about ourselves which makes it impossible to just keep writing.

As a fellow writer, I come to you today with much sympathy.

I have been there so many times. And after "just keep writing" didn't work, I found some other ways that helped me get through that feeling of being stuck in my manuscript.

Here are six ways to get yourself unstuck when writing your story:

1. Take a break and daydream

Sometimes what you need is to take a step back from physically writing and allow yourself to daydream. Go for a walk, listen to a playlist you made for your story, or to an audio recording of your manuscript. Do anything that helps your mind stay engaged in your project and inspired to get back to the page.

2. Re-Fill Your Creative Well

Take time away from your manuscript to watch a movie, show, or read a book that will motivate you to get back to your creative project. For me, the best method to do this has been reading or watching something similar to what I’m currently writing. This usually will either motivate me to get back to writing or it will even help me piece together some of the plot and character issues that might be causing me to get stuck.

3. Do some more research, character development, or world-building

Even though this isn’t putting more words into your manuscript, it’s still an important part of developing your story. And don’t play yourself. All of this is still writing! It’s still keeping your mind rooted in your project. It’s possible that fleshing much of this out will help you tweak some of the issues that may be causing you to get stuck in the first place! In fact, taking the time to do this now will be really helpful once you start revisions.

4. Read the chapters you've already written

It can be tempting to start editing or re-writing these earlier chapters when you do this. But try your best not to touch them, unless you're fixing minor grammatical errors. The goal of re-reading is to get your head back in the game. It’s to familiarize yourself with the direction of your plot, characters, and the narrative voice you’re writing in. It's about allowing yourself to get excited about your story again. The time will come for you to edit the mistakes you've made along the way, but, for now, if you want to get this first draft done, you need to limit how many times you go back and adjust the beginning chapters.

5. Don't write chronologically

I think for the majority of writers this sounds like blasphemy. Personally, I could not fathom jumping around scenes. But, in times when I’ve gotten stuck, skipping the current scene I’m working on and jumping to one I’m the most excited about, or one that I have a clearer vision for, has helped me move forward in my writing. Even if, like me, you cringe at the thought of leaping ahead in the storyline, I really recommend trying this when you feel stuck!

6. Keep writing, even if it's trash 🗑️

I know. I know...

I promised at the start of this post that I wasn’t going to give you this advice. But there is a reason so many writers suggest this…it’s because it works.

Sometimes you need to hold your breath and walk through the sewer to get to the other side. Just write the scene. Even if your words are terrible. You will have the chance to go back and fix them soon!

Honestly, the main goal when we get stuck in our story is not to just step away and leave our project alone.

A break every once in a while is fine, but long and frequent breaks will leave you disconnected from your story, which will make coming back to writing it really hard. You'll find yourself even more stuck and discouraged than before.

This is what we want to avoid.

The goal is to remain as engrossed in our story as possible, even if, right now, we feel like deleting it off our desktop. The best way to get unstuck is to keep yourself locked into the world of your story and your creativity as much as possible.

Have you tried any of these methods? What other things help you get unstuck while writing?

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