I find that as I write my novels I tend to get stuck in the middle. I’ve got my outlines that are fluid and changeable as my story progresses. Something happens … maybe exhaustion from the combo of working full-time and squeezing writing into every free second I have in the evenings and weekends while still functioning as a family. Maybe my brain just says “stop”. Regardless it happens every time.
I started waiting for inspiration. On my first novel it was literally months before I touched it again. Then I read James Scott Bell’s article about how you can doom your novel. http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/7-things-that-will-doom-your-novel-how-to-avoid-them
I started making plans. I made quotas. If my motivation wasn’t there for one novel I went onto another. I read more books, watched more movies and shows related in my genre. Soon I started seeing ideas in the world around me … even while at work. This is when I started genre experimenting and other writing exercises. It truly is a craft. Stretch your boundaries. Push your limits. Work hard. You can teach yourself.
