ROFL! Don't feel bad. I struggle with writers block a lot. And even though I can usually pound out a complete novel in 2 weeks to a month, that doesn't mean I don't struggle with writers block along the way. Now I rarely go through 18 month blocks, but most of the time when I do go through long droughts, it's because I'm either A) overthinking the situation, B) not familiar enough with my characters, C) not familiar enough with the world, or D) doing a scene I don't totally understand yet.
Take book 3 of my Earthfleet series. (BTW, this is spoilers for anyone who hasn't read book 3 yet, so just be forewarned) In the scene where Command One gets attacked, I struggled for the better part of two weeks to get through that one single chapter which made up the total initial scene. I especially struggled with how best to portray Sarah, given who she is and her relationship to Mike. The worst case of writers block I've suffered so far involves book 3 of my Land of the Lions series (Lion on the Water). That book got shelved in May of 2008 and is still on the shelf, not because I don't have time for it (personally, I'd love to be able to set everything else aside and finish it), but rather because the story won't come together for me.
So, alas, it sits right now until my mind can get back into the game and start working on the idea again. But hey, it'll happen eventually.
