I wish there were a pill for this. I find time is critical. Often a writer is simply creatively tired, or one’s unconscious is working on character, plot, or somesuch, and that has brought one’s writing to a painful halt. To remedy that, time is needed. On other other hand, I always ask myself, “What is the villain doing?” The villain drives the plot, whether it’s a minimalist literary piece or a grandiose potboiler. If you know what your villain is doing, whether it is man, beast, or god, generally you will be able to uncover where the book or story needs to go next.

Tacked to my lamp shade:

At the beginning of my career, Robert Kirsch, the literary critic for the Los Angeles Times, was my mentor. He told me I was an artist, then he leaned forward and, eyes blazing, said, “I wish you many mistakes. If you’re not making mistakes, you know you’re dead.”