People approach the motivation behind an action usually from a linear, cause-and-effect perspective. This isn’t necessarily wrong: we eat because we are hungry, and we drink because we are thirsty. However, increased complexity begins to blur the lines between a cause and its effect. Sometimes we might eat not because we are hungry, but because we are sad. Writing motivation, that is, the force behind the production of text, is such a complex issue.
To some extent, you can claim that writing motivation originates from the desire to write. I write because I want to tell a story is probably a basic, simple way to describe it. But there is a problem there. “I want to tell a story” indicates volition. Writing fiction cannot be a process you do willingly.
Any author will tell you: they hate writing; every word, every sentence, every page and every chapter. It’s exhausting, life-sucking, it messes with your head.
So, why do we do it?
