Today was a good day. I know what my character's conflict is, and how she has to overcome it in the climactic moment of the book.
It was an arduous journey getting here, hopefully this knowledge while stay constant while I add the plot and story onto this skeleton.
What helped me was examining and reexamining my main character and the conflict she has to counter in act 3 of the novel. It was like a scrutiny into my writing world for days on end (feels longer than it was) and it has paid off. The intuition of knowing what is uncertain and what is certain is getting stronger with every day I don't go ahead with something that doesn't feel right. This I suspect is the secret of great writers - those who are so familiar with creating innumerable characters and their arcs as well as plots to go along with it that they develop an innate sense for what works for them and what doesn't. I guess this is the hallmark of a satisfying movie as well.
This would apply to plot-centric novels though but I have come across some with open-ended endings which also feel good. For the most part I avoid reading short stories as I don't get that bite out of the ending but I'm sure there are short stories which deliver that. An interesting area to explore as a writer.
On staying inspired, I watch Chef's Table on Netflix, listen to ambient music while writing and I start my day with some reading about beauty, art etc. I also found a great site with links to theatre productions such as Death of a Salesman and the complete works by Shakespeare. I tell myself to always inspire myself first, write after.