Hello, sorry I haven't been around much.
Lucid dreaming is definitely harder for some people and easier for others.
For example gamers tend to have more lucid dreams, because their brains are more used to that distorted reality, or fucked up images and everything that goes out of normal (which can happen in a dream just like in a game).
So yeah there's that.
Most of the time I got lucid it was random too for me.
I think you're doing just fine with reality checks and meditation but you gotta do the dream journal.
Everywhere I've read , that is a must.
Dream journal stimulates your dream memory, if you do a lucid dream then don't remember it what's the point ? So you gotta keep that dream journal behind the pillow, first thing in the morning is you note down your dreams with every detail possible, the more details you write the more it stimulates your memory and you'll remember more, colors, behaviour of people in your dream, clothes, how you felt about certain events etc... And you gotta do it before you get out of bed, the more time you spend before writing it down, the less you're gonna remember. So yeah.
Keep that journal filled.
Also even if you don't do lucid dreams and you take the habit of writing down you last night dreams, it's a very nice thing to do, it's a total other world we aren't very used to, and you gonna learn stuff about yourself too.
I hope I've been of help !