- Edited
I used to read so many c-novels that involved transmigration, rebirth or strong female lead and that helped motivate me to start my own novel. Once I started writing, I slowly lost interest in reading (down side ). But I usaully give up novels after 150+ chapters because the plot gets draggy or the female lead loses her strong characteristics. Or maybe I was too focused on imagining the next scene for my own that reading other works isn't fun anymore. But I think once you have a novel you are excited to write about, that motivational side of you just kicks in.
Plus having supporters and readers always help motivate me. I remember wanting to drop my current novel so many times but my readers kept me going.
Lastly, having time is a must. Unless you can write at the speed of light, lol. I spend at least 2 1/2 hours writing one chapter, including quick edit. It's very time consuming but well worth it b/c it's your novel where you make the rules
Overall, knowing how to balance your free time between the two or choosing what's most exciting/important to you at the moment will help you do both reading and writing.