I started two or three different stories and really got to grips with them last year I even managed about ten chapters in one of them. But I had a few months away from writing them due to other commitments and now I find it exceptionally hard to get back into it, I even thought about just deleting the lot and giving it up. I don't want to but how can I get my mojo back? Help!
It sounds as though writing is a chore at present. There's no enjoyment in it, and you don't really know where it's going. When real life gets in the way, it can make writing seem like an indulgence.
You wrote ten chapters: have you read them recently from start to finish? Can you remember how you intended the story to progress before you had to leave it? I'd advise reading with a notebook and pencil to hand, and jotting down any ideas you may have as you go through it. If you start to build on what you already have, you'll feel much more inclined to carry on.
Of course, this is not the best time of year to try to get anything sensible done - far too much going on, and too many demands on your time. It's dark early, and you want to go into what the French call 'cocooning' mode: great for reading other people's books in the warm, not quite so good for writing your own if your desk is not a comfortable place.
There's also that weary end of year feeling that comes over many of us in December, which isn't conducive to creativity. Reading your work through is a passive way of getting to know it again, and writing notes is a plan, a way of nudging yourself along. If you really get into it, you'll start again; or you may be inspired to re-think the story, or to start something new.
Don't destroy your work: it's not hurting anyone, sitting undisturbed in a dark corner of your computer. Don't give up what gave you pleasure and seemed so promising. The best way to get your mojo back is to go back to the place where you left it. Go on - give it a chance!
Lorraine