There's lots of reasons for burn-out, so just start up a collection of remedies and try them all one by one until something works.

For me, often physical exercise helps knock me out of writer's block. Instead of writing for 3 hours head out on a 90 minute walk and then write. In my case, I like to be walking towards something, like home, rather than round and round in a circle. I live in a big city so I take a bus 30 minutes from home in any direction (except down hill, because walking up hill sucks) and walk back.

Another thing to try - People. Lack of socialization causes blocks for a lot of people. Join some club, preferably NOT a writing club, and go off once a week to fill up your community feeling supplies.

Best of luck!

* snip *

I will not challenge Kincaid to a duel over Murphy:
a) I won't challenge the Merlin, either
b) Both would kill me

And after they each killed me Murphy would step in and kill me again. Probably twice.

The 'Miss Snark' web site is a great place to start. It is no longer being added to, but the information there is still good. Start with the oldest posts and read every bit of it.

http://misssnark.blogspot.com/

Best luck!

So here I go getting all serious and stuff –

I read pre-publication, pre-submission and work-in-progress manuscripts for several authors. It’s a lot of work with little tangible compensation.

Getting started as a beta reader was easy for me, but took a couple of decades. Some people I know got into it by hanging out with editors and offering to read their slush piles. I had certain expertise in some areas and offered do technical fact checking for some manuscripts. Another source of manuscripts is to hang out with writer’s groups. When I do that, before I accept any manuscripts, I try to pay attention to manuscript flow within the group – who asks for critiques, what is that writer’s response to those critiques, and what seem to be the general expectations within the group.

I don’t always live up to my ideals, but here’s a few of my Ideal Rules Of Thumb to start you thinking about building your own Beta Reader rules –

-   I immediately establish what level of feedback is expected, such as; Cheerleader, Plot Points, Technical Fact Checking, Grammatical, Etc. 
-   I immediately establish when the feedback is due. Exact date, if possible also exact time.
-   I give feedback in a written, methodical, easy to follow way. I discuss one problem at a time, even if there are several problems within the same section of writing, assuming the author will need a list to check off each issue as he deals with it.
-   I structure my comments as – First, what didn’t work for me, and then why I think it didn’t work.
-   I work hard to be uplifting and coherent while suggesting changes.
-   I give feedback as a reader on the current version of the story including character arcs, character likeability, plot points and coherence of the plot idea.
-   When I give feedback on technical details I cite specific sources. If the writer depends upon my established expertise then I spend sufficient time to make sure details related to that expertise are correct.

-   I do not accept every manuscript.
-   I critique every manuscript I do accept - EVERY SINGLE ONE.
-   I decline to accept a manuscript when I do not have the available time to work on it. With me that’s generally 10 hours to read and 20 more hours to write notes. I expect to work in 5 hour sessions, not ‘a few minutes here and there’. That would be for a finished, 3rd or better draft full length novel.
-   I decline to accept a manuscript if the writer or past a example of their writing was not to my taste.
-   I decline to accept a manuscript where I have no expertise or interest.
-   When I decline to critique a manuscript I do so immediately, in writing, and with no wishy-washy maybe-if-I-have-time verbiage.

-   I give editorial feedback on marketing viability. 
-   I give editorial feedback on parallels with other current works.
-   I give editorial feedback on parallels with other works over a wide range of date and location of the other work’s creation (i.e. “I like the character’s comments in Chapter Seven about it being a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ situation, but the plot line you are depicting is a lot closer to Kurban Said’s classic Azerbaijanian love story “Ali and Nino”, so much so that you may have plagiarism issues. Would you like to borrow my copy to check that out?”)

-   I don’t rewrite.
-   I don’t give content free value judgments (i.e. only a three word feedback such as “I love it!” or “I Hate it!”)
-   I don’t expect or ask for financial, social or emotional compensation. I don’t ask the writer to pay me. I don’t demand a mention on the acknowledgement page, or expect them to show up at an office Christmas party I organize. 
-   I DO make it clear to the author(s) I work with that my name is not to be shared with others without my pre-approval.
-   I don’t gossip about alternative chapters and endings after the book is published. I don’t gossip about a work in progress. I don’t get involved in the advertising.
-   I don’t whine if my favorite bits vanish from updated versions or the published work.
-   I don’t get my panties in a twist if my advice is apparently not used.

*sigh* I had a brain fart joke to close this with, but I forgot it. . .

In my opinion -

First: The US laws regarding plagiarism and fan fiction are vague and, when law is resorted to, tend to screw over both the original author and the fan author.  Second: Creating your own story universe is infinitely more satisfying in the long run. Yes, it’s insanely tiring, frustrating, and complex enough to cause week-long headaches, but still, more satisfying. Third: When writing in someone else’s world you are not learning the craft of writing. All you are seeing is the end product and trying to make something of it. It’s sort of like thinking that knitting a scarf will teach you how to raise sheep.

Yes, you can ‘file off the serial numbers’. But to do that suitably you need to move beyond filing and into the realm of sculpture.

Best of luck, whatever you decide.

Actually, I live in the US Midwest and I don’t have any problem with people treating my writing as a job. I believe that is because I treat it as one.

• I’ve scheduled things around my writing time enough that my friends know not to call me or schedule things with me at set times. If they do interrupt me I explain that ‘I’m at work just now, I’ll get back to you in a couple hours.’
  
• I have set goals of scenes, word count and research to do and I track my progress. When people ask me how I’m doing I can reply coherently with concrete statistics.
  
• I track the industry. Occasionally business talk enters into casual conversations. When something important is going on in book industry news I keep up on the details.
  
• I ask for opinions from friends on their reading and book purchasing habits. I listen to them in a non-judgmental way. I respect them as favorite customers in much the same way my friend in banking treats discussions on economics or my friend with a clothing store discusses fashion and fabric issues.
  

I don’t know if any of this will help you gain deserved respect, but hey, it works for me.

Finish the manuscript before rewriting.
Let the manuscript age for several months before re-writing.
Finish the manuscript before rewriting.
Write another manuscript before editing the first.
Finish the manuscript before rewriting.

A useful writing tool in a big old bottom drawer where you can stash finished manuscripts while they ‘age’. But most importantly, finish the manuscript before rewriting.

(Yes, I do have very firm opinions on this. )

...  Does it look like I'm doing this right?

Looks like a fine start.

... must keep the artifact from discovery ...

You might want to look at this element with an eye towards how it works into the book's grand finale. How does the main character (and readers) know when this problem has been resolved? It's hard to make an action sequence out of making something not happen. If you already have ideas for dealing with the ending then you're good to go.

- Best of luck!