Goodreads asked Rachel Crowther:

How do you get inspired to write?

Rachel Crowther Writing isn't all a question of inspiration. It's a question of motivation, commitment and hard slog too, as any writer will tell you. But I think there are two kinds of inspiration that do play a part: one is the way ideas drift into your head and settle, and you think, 'wow, that's an interesting idea for a story / character / situation / dilemma' - and the other is the itch of really needing to get down to writing (or editing, or whatever stage you're at) when you've been away from it, which I can only describe as being similar to the sudden yearning for chocolate - almost impossible to resist, and essential for the forwards momentum of whatever you're working on.

The first kind, by its nature, tends to come when you're least expecting it. It might be in the middle of a concert or out on a walk, overhearing a conversation or reading an article, seeing someone across the street or musing on nothing in particular on a train or car journey - anything that sparks a connection or catches your imagination. I think the only prerequisite is that you have to be open to that spark, and ready to see where it might take you.

The second kind is harder to explain, but anyone who writes will recognise it. Less inspiration, perhaps, than a craving - to create, to express, to follow a thread, to improve something that's already a work in progress. Maybe that's what you might call a vocation: not something you can call up to order, but a necessary (or at least hugely useful) prerequisite for a writer: to want to write.

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