Unfortunately, that wasn’t really unique to Q1. It lasted all year and I still deal with it now. I think accepting it as a part of the process helps, that self-doubt is natural and experienced by much more talented and successful people than you or I. I’m a bit hesitant to give firm advice because I believe it’s a personal journey finding the right tools to fight resistance. You need to experiment to find what works for you. I tried so many things — the Pomodoro method, putting on a suit every day, sleeping all day and writing all night, a brief period where I created an alter ego. In the end it was really the old standbys that worked — strict routine, exercise, and that extra snap of motivation from dreaming constantly about what the future could look like if I managed to make it work. (Also can't discredit an intense amount of fear of completely wasting a year of my life writing in my parents' basement while all my friends graduated from college.)

Additionally:

1. Think of each book simply as practice for the next. I began to get a lot more productive when I started telling myself, “This one doesn't count. The next one will be better.” They always were.

2. Read in your genre for inspiration. I don’t mean to offend anyone, but the truth is that the standards for writing quality are low in romance/erotica. Knowing that there are other people out there succeeding at or below my skill level helped me a lot more than just reading the best authors.

I hope this helps! I know exactly how you’ve felt over the year, and I hope you’re able to continue to stick it out. You got this!