Slump

Today, I've come just a little short of my mini goal. I think my problem is an idea slump.

I always knew sort of what I meant to have happen in this portion of the book, but the outline in general of it was more than a little vague. Without my outline to depend upon, I am left to pull the ideas together in my head. I need to create a sort of mini outline for the middle portion of the tale (it's always the middles that present the problem, isn't it?) and outlines usually take me time.

Usually, I kick the whole idea around in my head until it's ordered enough for the paper. I feel like I need to kick this middle part around in my head some more so that I can get a better feel for it.

I do know one subplot I hope to include during this portion of the book; however, since the idea only come to me (via the inspirational force known as my best friend), I'm still not sure how that's going to play out.

All in all, I feel like beating my head against my notebook.

Ever hit an idea slump? How do you regroup when things start getting hairy?