David Beer, Why do writers write? (via his Half Thoughts blog)

For some reason, I’ve written a little piece about George Orwell’s four motives for writing.

The reason why writers write is mostly mysterious, even to the writers themselves. When occasionally invited to account for their work, the reflections usually tend toward the practical and the material. Take the podcasts dedicated to the craft of writing, questions of practice are commonly the focus. There is talk of daily schedules, desk spaces, locations, word counts, repeated routines, trusted productivity techniques, chapter plans, editing tips, promotional activities and the like. There are the occasional biographical tales too, often centred on how they got into writing. All are welcome insights into process. Writers often talk in interesting and amusing ways about their toils.