on Writing Forward:

Sometimes, inspiration appears out of nowhere. You’re taking a walk, and you’re suddenly struck by the urge to write a poem. Or you’re driving the car when you get a fantastic idea for a short story. If you’re lucky, you’re in a position to actually explore these ideas when they strike—you’ve got a notebook in your pocket or an audio recorder on your phone that you can use to capture these bursts of creativity.

But most of the time, we’re not sitting around getting hit by the lightning rod of inspiration. We have to work at it.

There’s nothing quite like that feeling of being inspired. It’s a thrill, especially when you put pen to paper and something exciting happens—you produce a piece of work that you’re proud of.

But sometimes …