Goodreads asked Mark Saha:

How do you get inspired to write?

Mark Saha (1) Again, shut off your phone and put it in a drawer. (2) I like to take long walks alone to explore new (but safe) neighborhoods and let thoughts come and go. Often a story, or scenes for a story in progress, come out of nowhere. Sometimes a seemingly insurmountable difficulty in a story magically resolves itself. A writer friend carries a small inexpensive recorder on his walks to record snippets of dialogue. (3) When you sit down at your laptop or computer, often you will have accumulated enough material from your walks to “download” and jump start a session. If, on the other hand, you’ve been chatting on the phone or texting friends (even other writers) all day, it’s unrealistic to expect you can just sit down and start writing.

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