I don't believe in muses, writing is a cerebral thing and it's something I've always done. I've written Bike most days for the past six years to prove to myself it can be done without loads of drama, or special conditions - I just sit there for an hour/ ninety minutes and out pops the next episode. In some ways it's easier than writing from scratch because my characters are well established and I have plot lines I can continue or even pick up from a while back.

I suddenly realised I hadn't done a short story for a couple of months - I have been very busy and tired, and at times finding the time to do Bike was difficult - and finding the energy on occasion, I have been known to fall asleep while writing. Don't worry, I usually delete those bits.

Yesterday, Dorset became very grey and wet and I was quite tired from the last week which had been particularly heavy and demanding - I worked well over 50 hours - though I don't get paid any extra. So I was tired physically and mentally. I slobbed about until lunch time, read bits and pieces on the internet, did the crossword and so on. Then I had a browse of BBC Iplayer and found a documentary from 2010 by Simon Armitage tracing the origins of the Arthurian legends from the literature. He's a poet so I thought it would be quite interesting. It was and the combination of mulling over the content of his film and a long walk in the rain, became a short story, which I wrote in a single draft and posted - all done in two hours.

Sometimes ideas swim about in my head for weeks or even months, then I sit down and write them, usually with no plan - they just fall out on the page. This one from watching the film to posting was a few hours, including making my tea and a two hour walk in the rain. No muse, just a mental exercise.