Working writers can’t always wait to be inspired. Deadlines aren’t that patient.

But if you let it, lightening can strike. You could be anywhere: a steamy shower, a long walk, falling asleep, in the middle of the night. And wham, there it is, the lead you’ve been searching for. The perfect structure for that feature story. The idea for an article you just know your favorite editor will love.

I call these “aha” moments. For me, they normally come when I’m relaxed or letting my mind wander.

I was inspired to think about inspiration by an article in the July 28 issue of The New Yorker on the subject of insights and how people get them, “The Eureka Hunt: Where in our brains do insights come from?” by Jonah Lehrer. (When I checked today, this article was not online yet. I’ll make the link live when it is.)

In his story, Lehrer interviews a variety of scientists who study the brain and comes to some of the same conclusions that people who work in creative fields like writing have discovered intuitively: that if you walk away from a difficult problem your brain continues to tackle it and will come up with a solution when you least expect it; that being relaxed helps the brain do its thing; that the best time to work on creative endeavors is in the early morning when your mind is half-asleep but more open to new ideas than when you’re fully awake.

How do you get inspired?