It helps you understand the plot better. If you know who the characters are and what they want, you can follow the story's twists and turns more easily. For example, in a mystery novel, keeping track of the characters can help you figure out who the culprit might be.
The lack of motivation can be a big hurdle. As you write, there may be days when you don't feel excited about your novel anymore. Distractions are also a problem. The allure of social media or other activities can pull you away from writing. And then there's the issue of over - editing as you go. This can slow down your progress and make it hard to keep on track with the writing.
One benefit is that you can easily revisit your favorite stories. Sometimes you come across a really great fanfic and might want to read it again later. By keeping track, you can quickly find it. Another advantage is that it helps you discover new fanfics from the same author or within the same fandom. If you keep a record of what you've read, you can see patterns and find related works more easily.
You could make a simple chart. Have columns for things like the chapter number, the main event, the characters involved, and any new information revealed. This helps you see the flow of the story at a glance. Additionally, highlighting passages related to important events can be useful. It makes it easy to go back and review when needed.
Since we don't have more information about this 'keeping the house novel', the main characters could be diverse. It might be a single mother who is struggling to keep the house while raising her children on her own. Or it could be an elderly person who has lived in the house for a long time and has their own unique ways of keeping it, and then there could be new neighbors or relatives who come into the picture and interact with them regarding the house.
I'm not sure specifically as I haven't read this exact 'keeping faith novel'. But typically in such a novel, there could be a protagonist who is deeply committed to keeping faith. Maybe it's a young person facing a lot of external pressures.
I don't know as I haven't read it. It could be two business people if it's about a business partnership, or perhaps two friends or lovers if it's a more personal relationship - based story.
Since I haven't read the novel, I can't say for sure. But often in novels with such titles, there are likely to be a protagonist who is keeping the secret and the person or thing that the secret is about.