Stuck in the Middle

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.