Deadlines, lol. I'm a horrible procrastinator, plus perfectionist, plus I have a tiny voice in my head saying, "you are not a writer." So external force is often needed to make me sit down, to make me start something. Usually once the story is going, it's because I want to see where it ends up - the best stories, I'm figuring the details as I go along.

Unfortunately, for me, if I start seeing a story in my mind and finding out all the little details that make it breathe, I don't tend to ever get the story on the page. (I have lost so many ideas to that, and now I can't remember the stories I've made up in my head.)

But - love of characters makes me write, when I get past my issues. Of seeing something, a whisp of something, and wanting to try and share it, get it out of my head and onto paper.

Dunno if that makes any sense. Hard question, had to think about it.