Hi Lucy, your starter isn't likely to be dead unless it was exposed to extreme heat (more than 140F) at some point, so I would encourage you to continue. Patience almost always pays off when it comes to sourdough starters! I would begin by discarding all but 60g of your starter and feed twice a day with equal parts by weight of starter, water and flour. It sounds like your feeding routine might have ended up involving more starter as compared to water/flour you were feeding, and this could be contributing to the runnier consistency you've noticed recently. Are you seeing any bubbling and rising? If so, that's definitely a good sign that you're heading in the right direction. As far as environmental temperature goes, anything in the 68-80F range should work fine, and room temperature water should also work fine. If you're worried about using up too much flour during the creation process, you might want to consider maintaining a smaller starter, at least until your starter begins to rise consistently. Our smaller starter recipe fits nicely in an 8-ounce canning or jelly jar, and requires only 20g each of starter, water and flour. 

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