I haven’t so much been suffering from writer’s block as writer’s procrastination.

Yet I still managed to get stuff done.

1. Researched agents, and found six that look promising.
2. Marked my "Christian Writer’s Market Guide 2009" with sticky notes for possible publishers just in case the agents don’t pan out. I still need to research them more to find out if they’ll take science fiction and if they’re open to new and unpublished authors sans agent.
3. Found two professional editors. One offered to critique my first 10 pages for free. If I like what she does, I’ll hire her to complete the rest. If not, I’ll ask the other one. My manuscript definitely needs a professional perusal. I know there are problems, especially at the beginning, but finding solutions have eluded me.
4. I finally pushed myself to read through it one more time, and managed to fix (I hope) the minor problems.  
5. Taking care of my little guy. Poor thing had a fever of 102 yesterday and was miserable. He barely ate or drank anything, and all he wanted was to be held (I didn’t mind that part). He’s sleeping still (rare he sleeps past 8am and it’s 8:45 now), and doesn’t appear feverish anymore, thank God.

There is one sure-fire way to motivate me to write: Read. The more I read, the more I write. How strange is that?

Right now I’m reading "House of Dark Shadows" by Robert Liparulo. It’s a young adult suspense, and Book 1 of his "Dreamhouse King" series. I won it and the second installment in a contest. I normally don’t read YA, but I think reading outside my chosen genre is healthy. It gives me a sense of how other genres are written, and also gives me ideas of stories and/or novels I otherwise would never consider.

What motivates you to write, and how do you find new ideas?