Goodreads asked Rachel Vail:

How do you get inspired to write?

Rachel Vail Usually I don't; I have to drag myself to it and make deals with myself like no internet or walking away from this keyboard for one hour (set a timer) go -- or 5 pages written by 5 PM or I have to donate $5 to a cause I OPPOSE. Starting is hard almost every single day. Eventually, though, it's the writing that inspires me to keep writing: I get going and hit on a question that intrigues or confuses me, and I want to follow it down its path, see where it leads me... or a sentence I just wrote sounds like not me but so true to a character and I realize I am getting that amazing chance to think with the mind of another, which is so exciting and cool I have to keep going... the inspiration for writing, in other words, comes from the writing, not prior to it. (For me, anyway. Your mileage may vary.)

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