Behind It All: Why Do I Write?

Dave White is trying once again to get to the heart of why writers write:

So, maybe I'm issuing a challenge to the writers who blog and read this one. Why do you write? What is it about the craft that draws you to it? I don't want to hear about selling that book and how you're going to do it. I want to hear about why you wrote it.

I commented:

I tend to write whatever is clearest in my mind's eye, whatever is closest to the surface when I begin...[G]oing in with too many preconceived notions is a sure way to stall.

"Whatever is clearest" is another way of saying I write about characters and events that seem most vivid, most real to me. The theme doesn't matter at the start. I've tried to write a variety of stuff, not to repeat myself. If anything, I hope my writing reflects my goal to keep exploring, to see my surroundings in as many ways as I can.

It's hard to pin down what interests me; so many things do. What doesn't interest me? Repetitiveness, ignorance, laziness, lack of imagination.