To satisfy my desire for revenge. … To produce order out of chaos. … To defend the human spirit, and human integrity and honor. … To make money so my children could have shoes. To make money so I could sneer at those who formerly sneered at me. To show the bastards. … To thwart my parents. … Compulsive logorrhea. … Because an angel dictated to me. … To act out antisocial behavior for which I would have been punished in real life. … To subvert the Establishment. … To celebrate life in all its complexity.
Magaret Atwood, Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing
Some reasons given for why writers write. Atwood’s list is much longer, but these are my favourites.
Karl Möller 