We all live for those days when the virtual ink is flowing so fast it seems to stain our fingertips as we pound away on the keyboard. But what about the slow days when you think you’re stuck and your novel is never going to get itself finished? What about when you’ve written through the glow of the first quarter and are still climbing that story-telling mountain? Or how about (my personal problem for much of this past summer) if you’ve promised your fans a sequel…and you just can’t figure out where to start?

Ever since I was a kid, a brand new notebook has seemed like one of the best presents imaginable. There’s so much potential on those blank pages — I could almost write a novel about the stories that call to my pen. The first word I place on the first blank page fills my heart with so much glee, I often have to open up a word processor so the words can come out of my head as fast as they go in.

Of course, I’m a total cheapskate, so I buy my writing rewards in bulk. That’s right, I haunt back-to-school sales and pick up a dozen one-subject notebooks at five for a dollar. (Of course I opt for the one-subjects — more gleeful beginnings for the buck!) Then I hoard my stationary as if I could never afford another notebook, and when times get really tough, I pull out a new notebook and get to work. (Finally, if all else fails, there’s always chocolate….)

How about you? What do you use to unstick your wheels when you seem to be mired in the mud? Or how do you reward yourself when you reach your daily word count?

(As a side note, when I started this post, it was totally going to be a keyword followup. But I realized I didn’t have enough to say, so here’s the cliff notes version:

• Supercharge Your Kindle Sales includes more nitty-gritty information than I’ve seen anywhere before on the topic of keywords for ebooks. I knew most of it, though, so am glad I only borrowed rather than bought.
• The author’s method of determining whether enough readers are searching for your keyword phrase involves typing in the beginning and seeing if Amazon autofills. No autofill = nobody cares.
• As my husband also told me after I set him to work harvesting new keywords for my books, you can find new autofill suggestions by starting with one word on amazon, adding a space, then running through the alphabet. For example, type in “werewolf a” and they’ll suggest “werewolf academy,” “werewolf b” and you’ll get “werewolf books for teens,” and so forth.
• Finally, from my husband only and not from the book, try using Google’s autofill feature as well. You might find a phrase that will carry over well to Amazon!)

So, there you have it, two posts accidentally merged into one. Clearly, I should have read Ned’s eye-test post more carefully!

And, as a final P.S., don’t forget to go borrow your copy of my sweet billionaire romance! It’s on a roll, but could use more eyes!