At the last checkpoint you marked where each milestone stood and named the single biggest gap between you and a solid draft. Today is about that gap. You will name what is stuck, get a fresh pair of eyes on it, and leave with one clear next target so you can keep building between now and the next checkpoint.

A blocker is anything stopping you moving forward: a source you cannot find, a section that will not fit, a format that is harder than planned, a consent or credit question, or a piece that feels unclear even to you. Fresh eyes help because the person who has been staring at the problem often cannot see the simple fix.

Work in pairs. One of you is the maker; the other is the fresh pair of eyes. Then swap.

1. Maker reads the blocker sentence and points at the stuck bit (30 seconds).
2. Fresh eyes asks at most two clarifying questions, then gives one suggestion. Maker writes the suggestion before you swap.
3. Swap roles and repeat. About four minutes per maker, eight minutes paired in total. Your teacher calls the swap at four minutes.
4. As a class, call out blockers that more than one pair hit. Your teacher collects up to two common ones on the board (for example: no usable source, unclear opening). For each common blocker the class names one short workable fix that anyone could try. Park anything beyond those two.

Return to your own project. Use the idea from your partner and any shared fix from the board that applies.

• Write one next target at the top of your working notes: a single action you can finish in the next stretch of work (for example "replace the uncredited image and log the new source" or "rewrite the opening so a cold reader knows the topic in two sentences").
• Spend the rest of this step on that target. Start it and leave it visibly further on than when you sat down (even one concrete change counts). Do not switch to something easier that is already fine.
• Stop with the target either done or clearly started, and with your project saved the class way so it is there next session.

Being stuck is part of a long project, not a sign you chose badly. What mattered today was naming the blocker specifically, letting someone else look at it, and leaving with one next target instead of a vague hope that it would sort itself out. Between now and the next checkpoint, that target is your job. The draft does not need to be finished yet; it needs to keep moving.