You're probably not stuck-- you're just not aware of what part of the journey you're on.

In Part 2 of The Creation Funnel, I'll give you a full diagnostic of the 8 stages of making anything, so you can figure out where you are and what to do next.

Each stage comes with:

• Signs you're there
• Signs you're struggling
• What's really going on
• And one practical tool to move forward

Because when you don't know where you are… every part of the process feels wrong.

Clear the confusion. Stop spinning your wheels.
Do the work that belongs to the stage you're in.

Let's go.

There's a moment on a long road trip where it feels like you should already be there… but you're not even halfway.

Most writers quit in that moment.

Not because they're incapable-- but because they don't realize it's part of the journey.

In this episode, I lay out The Creation Funnel: a practical framework for understanding exactly where you are in a creative project-- and why it feels the way it does. It's a map for your creative journey.

If you've ever wondered:

• "Why is this so hard right now?"
• "Was this idea ever good?"
• "Why can't I finish anything?"

This episode might change how you see your work entirely.

In this episode of Fiction Writer's Toolshed, we're talking about the moment before the work-- the hesitation, the resistance, and the quiet lie that you need to feel like it before you begin.

And how a Blood Punch might set you free.

This episode breaks down two core ideas that can radically change how you approach your writing practice.

We also explore the trap of endless ideation: how keeping projects in your head feels safe but ultimately keeps them from ever existing, and why sometimes what you need isn't more planning, but a decisive, imperfect burst of action.

If you've ever found yourself standing at the edge... knowing you should write, intending to write, but not starting... this episode is your push.

And when I say go… go.

For a lot of writers, the novel has quietly become the default starting point.

If you're serious about writing, the assumption often becomes:
start planning your novel… or your trilogy… or your series.

And if you're not doing that, it can start to feel like you're not quite doing the "real thing" yet.

But in this episode, I want to suggest something that might sound uncomfortable at first:

For many writers, you probably shouldn't be writing a novel right now.

Not because novels are bad.
Not because you shouldn't write one someday.

Novels are incredible creative undertakings. But I bet you shouldn't be writing one right now.

Join us inside the Fiction Writer's Toolshed to find out why.

A lot of writers are starving themselves creatively-- and they don't realize it.

Not because they lack ideas.
Not because they lack discipline.
But because they aren't finishing things.

In this final episode of a three-part series on the things that quietly destroy writers, I talk about something incredibly simple that turns out to be surprisingly powerful:

Finished work.

Not outlines.
Not worldbuilding.
Not half-drafted novels.

Actual finished pieces of fiction writing.

When writers go months (or years) without finishing anything, they lose the psychological and creative fuel that keeps a writing life alive.

In this episode, we explore three key "nutrients" that finishing small pieces provides.

Enjoy, and welcome to the Fiction Writer's Toolshed.

When most writers start, writing feels light.

It's curiosity.
It's wonder.
It's something you can't stop doing.

But somewhere along the way, something shifts.

Writing becomes measurable.
It becomes evaluative.
It becomes work.

And slowly, quietly, almost without noticing…

Something important disappears.

In this episode-- the second in a short mini-trilogy about things that quietly erode writers from the inside-- I talk about what happens when improvement becomes the primary goal, when awareness turns into self-policing, and when every time you "pick up the ball" it feels like you're suddenly playing under professional-level expectations.

You'll hear:

• How growing skill can accidentally crowd out creative joy

• Why self-awareness becomes destructive when it turns into constant judgment

• The subtle difference between healthy craft discipline and over-regulation

• And why trying to force joy directly almost never works

If your writing has started to feel heavy…
If you've been procrastinating something you used to love…
If everything feels like it has to justify its existence…

This episode isn't about fixing your technique.

It's about rediscovering something you may have lost without realizing it.

And once you see it, a lot of the weight starts to lift.

I struggled with separating the concepts of Fiction Farming vs. Fiction Cooking for a long time.

And while it might sound strange, confusing those two modes may be quietly destroying more writing momentum-- and more long-term creative joy writing fiction-- than almost anything else.

In this episode, I introduce a distinction that completely changed how I understand procrastination, "writer's block," and the shame spiral that comes from sitting down to write and walking away feeling like you failed.

I call it Fiction Farming vs. Fiction Cooking.

You'll learn:

• Why your brain uses these two different modes

• Why judgment kills ideas in one mode-- but is essential in the other

• How mixing the two creates unnecessary friction and ultimately leads to not writing

• And how to diagnose which mode you're actually in before you sit down to work

This is the first episode in a short mini-trilogy about subtle habits that quietly erode writers' confidence over time.

If you've been hard on yourself lately, this one might bring some relief—and a clearer path forward.

This episode is the diagnostic follow-up to the 6 Pillars framework, but can also be useful on its own.

For each pillar, I share a few signs it may be underdeveloped– and one practical thing you can try to strengthen it. If you want clearer insight into why your writing gets stuck, this is where the framework turns into tools.

In the previous episode, I laid out The 6 Elemental Pieces of Being a Fiction Writer– a framework for understanding writing mastery as a system of skills, not a single talent.

In this episode, we get practical.

This is the diagnostic half of the framework: for each pillar, I walk through a few common signs it may be underdeveloped– and one concrete, testable thing you can try to start strengthening it.

The goal isn't self-judgment.
It's clarity.

When writers get stuck, it's often because they're trying to fix the wrong problem. This episode is about learning how to identify where friction is actually coming from, so effort turns into progress instead of frustration.

In this episode, I cover:

• How to diagnose issues across craft, ideation, design, process, sustainment, and taste

• Simple signals that point to the real source of stalled projects

• One actionable exercise per pillar– designed to be tried, not believed

• Why exhaustion, resistance, and inconsistency are information, not failure

• How to treat your creative capacity as infrastructure, not a resource to burn

If you've ever felt like you're working hard but not moving forward in a way that sticks, this episode gives you tools to figure out why– and where to focus next.

The Make Existian Toast

-===============-

May you slay false perfection, the old foe of done.

May you make all you dream of, and let making be fun.

And may you count who can make what you make– only one.

Sláinte.