Goodreads asked Andrew Butterworth:

How do you get inspired to write?

Andrew Butterworth The way my publishing deadlines worked out meant that I had to write the final three quarters of the book in a short space of time. When I planned out my writing strategy I worked out I would need to write 800 words a day to reach the contracted number of words my publisher asked for. Some days I just ground out those 800 words other days the writing flowed and I would write 3000 words late into the night.

So the short answer is that you just start writing and on the occasions that inspiration hits you go with it. Writing is a creative process (even non-fiction writing) and you can't always tell when those creative juices will be in full flow - but when they are its important to embrace them.

If I felt inspired but I wasn't able to write in that particular moment I'd take as many notes as I could (often jotting them down on my smartphone) and then expend on them later. That seemed to work very well for me.

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