A particular kind of stuckness

From a conversation with matociquala about why none of my short stories work currently:

It's like being a rat and working your way through a maze, and then the researcher says, "Okay, the next step is, you have to fly." And you're a rat. You don't even know where to go to get wings.

There's clearly something my brain is trying to figure out, but I don't know what it is or how to help. But, you know, sooner or later you can expect a lot of flying rats.