Why writers smash into brick walls, and how to break through them to reach the next level of your career
Discover practical strategies for writers to overcome creative plateaus, sustain growth, and continue evolving in their writing journey.
Hi,
At the beginning of your writing journey, growth is easy and everything’s moving quickly. You’re seeing progress, hitting milestones, and the road ahead seems wide open. Then, you smash into a brick wall and it feels like nothing you do can break through it.
Maybe it takes a couple months or a couple years, but we all hit that same brick wall, and it’s right about the time we start to question whether we’re any good or should just give up.
The answer’s a little more complicated than just yes or no, but the truth is that your early success lied to you. This stuff is haaaard.
Most of the people you flew past aren’t really playing the same game. Some have one foot in, others gave up a long time ago, and a lot of accounts are just inactive.
So yeah, at first, you’re making great strides, but you're mainly leaping over folks who aren’t all that committed. Even though there’s a ton of people flooding the market every day, it would a mistake to assume most of them are trying.
This gives people a false sense of confidence and makes the crash even worse when they eventually reach resistance.
They don’t hit resistence because their work is “bad” or they are awful. It’s because the people making real money are actually trying. They’ve been doing it for longer than you, and they want to keep doing it.
Remember, Stephen King, Elizabeth Gilbert, and frigging Shakespeare are crammed up at the top of the publishing pantheon, and the fact that you’re good enough to be mentioned in the same breath as them is incredible. Sure, you’ve maybe leapt past 85% of the people, but those people haven’t really done much, and those that once did have all but given up.
Yes, you’ve probably leapt over some fancy names, but when was the last time they did anything? How often do people talk about them? How much space to they really consume in the conversation?
Probably not much, and it probably didn’t take much effort to zoom past them. The people dominating the conversation right now are a different matter, though, and it takes more effort to join that conversation than ever before. Yes, Shakespeare is an old, dead playwright, but people still perform his plays and talk about his work regularly.
Do you have millions of people talking about your work every day? Probably not, which is why you hit the wall. It’s not because you’re doing something wrong. It’s just part of the journey. The further you get, the more you’ll realize that the people ahead of you are working just as hard, if not harder. They’ve been doing this for years, they’re skilled, and they’ve figured out systems that work for them. You’re not just coasting past people anymore; you’re up against serious creators.
When you reach this stage, frustration can creep in as all your tricks and strategies stop working. The same tactics that worked before aren’t as effective, and it might feel like your progress has stalled. But this isn’t failure. It’s a sign you’re moving into the next level of your craft. The question is whether you push through or let the resistance get the best of you?
The creators who are doing well aren’t just talented. They know what they’re doing. They have a plan, they’ve built systems, and they’ve refined them over time. These people aren’t winging it; they’ve figured out how to engage their audience, how to keep their content fresh, and how to keep improving. Breaking into this space isn’t just about working harder. It’s about working smarter.
You’re going to need more than raw talent to stand out. You need a deep understanding of who your audience is, what your strengths are, and how you can consistently deliver value. This is where intentionality comes in—you can’t just throw content out there and hope it sticks. You have to be deliberate, constantly learning, and evolving along the way.
Honestly, have you done any of this work or if you’re just winging it and assuming it’s going to work?
Even if you’re building systems and going about it strategically, you only get 1-2 shots a year to uplevel yourself. I spend almost my entire year finding ways to maneuver myself to take advantage of opportunity, and I still fail about half the time.
If you’re hitting a wall and you’re just smashing against it without no rhyme or reason, you almost certainly won’t get past it.
That’s bad news, but the worse news is that even once you do smash down that wall, there’s going to be another one blocking you in new and horrible ways before long, and it will take a whole different set of skills to break down.
On top of that, the higher you go, the more effort each small step requires. Think of it like this: getting from the 1st percentile to the 10th? That’s relatively easy.
But from the 10th to the 20th? You’re going to need to work twice as hard.
By the time you’re aiming for the 90th percentile, the effort required to make each small jump feels overwhelming. Basically, it’s the same energy as moving from 1 to 89 combined, and every subsequent percentile gets progressively harder in the same way.
This is the point where a lot of people drop off because it’s exhausting.
Those who stick with it don’t just work harder; they work smarter. They start to refine their processes, focus on what truly matters, and cut out the fluff. It’s all about putting your effort into the right places. No more busy work—just smart, calculated steps forward.
One of the biggest problems with publishing is that you can’t just stop at the 80% percentile because most of the money, fame, and recognition goes to a tiny fraction of writers.
The top 5%? They’re the ones reaping the rewards.
Everyone else? Well, they’re fighting for whatever’s left. It’s the harsh reality of a power law market, where the best get the most, and the rest are scrambling for visibility. Being “good” isn’t enough. If you want to succeed in publishing, you’ve got to be exceptional—and smart about how you position yourself.
Hitting a plateau can be a real emotional rollercoaster, but it’s also a financial one. Your position in the industry directly relates to how much money you make, which intertwines your sense of sense with your bank account.
When you’ve been riding high on progress and suddenly everything slows down, it’s easy to start doubting yourself. You might feel frustrated, burned out, or even question whether you’re cut out for this. It’s normal to hit these moments, but what matters is how you respond. Do you let it derail you, or do you dig deeper and push through?
When you’re feeling stuck, it’s important to remember that plateaus are just part of the process. Everyone hits them. What separates those who succeed from those who don’t is how they handle that resistance. Take it as a signal that you’re growing, and you’ll come out stronger on the other side.
To survive long-term, you need to be adaptable. The landscape is always shifting—whether it’s audience tastes, new technologies, or changes in how content is consumed. The most successful creators aren’t the ones who stick to a single formula forever—they’re the ones who can pivot and evolve when needed. Flexibility isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s essential. You have to be willing to try new things, learn from mistakes, and change direction if your current approach isn’t working.
The good news? Being adaptable means you’re always growing. Embracing change can open new doors and lead to opportunities you might not have expected. Staying curious and open-minded will help you stay ahead of the curve and keep your creative spark alive.
Writing is a journey filled with highs, lows, and plenty of in-betweens. Early success can feel exhilarating, but it’s not the whole story. The real test comes when you hit resistance, when progress slows, and when the effort required starts to outweigh the results. The publishing world is ruthless, with only a small slice of creators truly breaking through. But the ones who make it? They’ve adapted, refined, and pushed through every challenge.
Keep refining your craft, stay flexible, and remember that success isn’t just, or mostly, about talent. it’s about persistence, learning, and never losing sight of why you started this journey in the first place.
Why does it feel so hard? That’s easy. Because it’s really hard.
You are basically trying to convince somebody who already has a list of things they love to not only consume your work, but enjoy it enough to add it to their TBR pile, read it, fall in love with it, obsess about it enough to buy it, and tell everyone they know how they should read it, too.
Yes, that’s really hard, and it’s way harder than flippantly saying “It only takes 1,000 true fans”.
That’s what we say when the unfathomable unknowing of doing the thing seems impossible.
And guess what? It is frigging impossible. That is the little secret nobody tell you. It feels impossible because it is impossible.
All these strategies we teach are meant to tilt the universe in your favor a little bit, and make the impossible a little bit more possible.
Make no mistake, though. Everyone who’s done it has done the impossible, which is simply proof that it is possible…
…and therein lies the logical fallacy inside it all. It is possible to do the impossible only if you believe it is possible, but believing it is possible only becomes possible with strategy and time.
What do you think?
What strategies have helped you push through creative plateaus in your writing? Share your tips in the comments!
How do you stay motivated when progress slows in your writing journey? Let’s discuss ways to keep moving forward.
Have you ever had to adapt your writing process to overcome challenges?
Tell us what changes made the biggest impact for you in the comments.
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I'm the King of procrastination and self-sabotage... and still I write. Some people just have to scratch that itch.
I'm still trying to get through the bottom. I also think I have this innate resistance to writing what people want. That might be a problem.