Goodreads asked Helen L. Lowe:

How do you get inspired to write?

Helen L. Lowe I started writing down my invented stories when I was a child but my teachers told me it was the same as lying and I was banned from writing anything that wasn't true (my strict private school didn't encourage creative writing)
So I stopped writing the stories down and just kept them in my head. I chose a career (nursing) that wouldn't give me the time or energy to think about stories but by the time I was 30, I had so many stories running through my brain, I was convinced I was losing my mind. Then someone suggested that writing them down might help. It sounds an obvious solution now but at the time it hadn't crossed my mind (I was probablty still blocked by my horrified teachers at school).
Since then, I haven't stopped writing. I usually have no idea where the stories come from. Occasionally, I see something that sparks off an idea but mainly, I just start thinking of a particular character in a difficult situation. The feelings and emotions of the character are what makes the story grow and I play the story through my mind until it's the basis for a complete novel.

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