The Muddle in the Middle

Today over at Inkspot, the blog for Midnight Ink authors, I've contributed a post on "The Muddle in the Middle." I'm in the middle of the rough draft of the current manuscript I'm working on--the third book in the Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery series. And that's always where the writing bogs down. I talk about why.

And I'm asking for comments there. If you're a writer, when do you tend to lose that motivation or get bogged down in the writing? And if you're a reader, is the middle of a mystery when you start to get confused and the reading slows down? Do you find yourself going back in the book to remember things, as I often do?