What happens when you get stuck working on a novel?

This is a question I’m often asked and I have two remedies for tackling this. One is to either write through the sticky period. No matter what I write I just keep on writing, it is mainly rubbish but I can always go back and revise what I have written another day, when the words are flowing better. My second ploy is to either pick up my knitting, do a bit of sewing or go for a walk and let my mind think through where I am in the novel and what happens next.

I was at this stage over the weekend. I’d practically finished the first draft of the Inspector Andy Horton I’m currently working on (number seven in the series) and I’d got stuck on who done it! Crazy, I know, but I couldn’t decide who the killer really was. And the reason for that was I didn’t know enough about a couple of the characters. So while I was sewing a new top to wear I thought about the characters and their motivations. I then returned to writing and decided to start working through the second draft of the novel. I found that I needed to change the beginning, which isn’t unusual at all, but as I considered re structuring the start of this novel things began to fall into place. I came up with a couple of new ideas and a slightly revised timescale and there I was with better motivation and a villain … or two… or three. So now I’m a much happier girl and raring to go on this new draft. If you don’t hear from me for a while you’ll know why!