This is kinda inspired by the unbelievable jobs thread but I am just wondering why so many people seem to want to be a writer.
It’s a hard life. The money truly sucks. You open your heart and soul up for public appraisal. Most people don’t make it as a writer and even when they do, the money still sucks. The hours are long and the public adulation is not what it is cracked up to be ;).
They want it for the same reason people want anything: the idea of it pleases them.
Reality and idea are seldom the same, however, which accounts for all the alcoholics in the world 
— G. Raven
I just had to add that there’s nothing wrong with writing, or wanting to make a living out of it. But to want to write, solely because it sounds like a fun job, is rather misguided.
It’s not fun, it’s a calling.
— G. Raven
I’ve never understood why so many people want to be writers either. I guess it’s a job/lifestyle that’s been romanticized by books and Hollywood, much like the jobs/lives of doctors, lawyers and cops have. (Check your “TV Guide” if you think I’m joshin’.)
Granted, it’s mostly pretty fun, even when I’m writing hack ad copy. I really like it, I guess. As far as really wanting to be a writer, I had a couple of other career choices in mind before I sort of fell back on writing, but for now I’m satisfied with it. I’ve had a bunch of stuff published, mostly articles, and have no plans to write the Great American Novel. Having a limited attention span at best, the most I can hope for is to crank out a coupla short stories and see what happens. I did have an agent, but he sucked (or maybe I did??), and we parted company some time ago.
Now… as far as always wanting to be a writer, no. I never felt it was a calling, or a passion, or an all-encompassing almost-religious experience. And that is not to take away from the people who do feel that way. I’m just talking about my own experience, here. I just like to write. It’s fun. And it keeps me off the streets. And it keeps me from borrowing money from my dad.
Most writers either really enjoy sharing their opinions with others or trying to influence others.
Another type of writer really only writes for themselves. Especially at the time of writing, they could give a flying toss about what anyone thinks of their writing. I have never ever given a thought about what someone might think when I am writing fiction. Once it’s done, then maybe I care but never ever when I’m in the process.
I believe most people who stick with writing do so because they have to. It’s just there and you have to get it out. Often times, people in this category will not write for a long period of time, even decades, and then suddenly it all comes together and comes spilling out. Charles Bukowski is a good example of a possessed writer, and if you read his stuff you might get an idea about this type of writer.
I suppose there wouldn’t be one answer. I would think that each and every person would have their own reason they want to write. The glamour of public life, of having thousands of people enjoying your work. The freedom, to travel, to set ones own hours. (yes, writing is hard work, but run a small business, like a bookstore, its not “easy”) The money might not be much, and most writers are shown to be poor, but this just strengthens the romance. Poor seems to equal a sort of finacial freedom, a release of the normal drudgery of going to work and clocking in every day.
And to some it is something they enjoy doing. To set down ones thoughts on paper, to share them with others, and perhaps to inspire another person positivly. It is power. It is Escape. It is happiness.
No job is easy, nothing efforless, without the boring times, the rough times, the times that one has to scrape by. But enjoyment is what makes the job worthwhile. If a policeman hates his job, his job is going to be hard, if he enjoys it, he will get high off of everyday life, his thinking will be clearer, there will be no glum clouds hanging over him. It’s all about enjoyment and perspective. If you love what you do, and your only goal is that enjoyment, rather than finacial gain, then I don’t see why anybody would not want to be a writer. If they enjoyed writing, that is.
As an example, Scientists in general, love thier jobs. Its not easy, it takes alot of work (mental, sometimes physcial), sucks away almost all your free time (ok, this might be a typecast, but i’ll use it), and does not pay well for the hours one spends in education and off-time. But they all love it. Same thing applies. The thrill of accomplishment, the awe of wonder and amazement at discovering something new, either to yourself your to the entirety of science. Writing is no different, words are music, and the right combination can leave you with a feeling of euphoria, and like an addiction, make you want more.
Errr, I didn’t make it clear in my OP 
but Mr Primaflora and I make a semi living as writers. I’ve got the reviews for our first book sitting on my desk right now. “… a real page turner, a wonderfully contemporary drama set in Auckland’s familiar urban and social landscape.” Mr P has written and published over a dozen books.
I guess I’m trying to fathom why other people think this is a desirable lifestyle… the starving in a garret thing is getting old this week at least. Financial survival is desirable from my perspective.
I’ll be honest too and say that I don’t particularly like the public aspect of the writer life. I won’t tutor or do public appearance work if I can possibly avoid it. I’m lucky that Mr P likes doing it and thrives on it.
I’m a writer who has to hit daily deadlines-- and I LOVE my career.
First off, the money’s good. Not great, but good.
Sitting around typing all day sure beats heavy lifting or dealing with unruly clients and customers.
Public adulation? Well, a bit of glamour does rub off. Everyone wants to talk to me at parties for some reason 
I fell into it. Got a job as an office manager in an ad agency, then started writing ad copy . . . Then got a job at a magazine, and it’s been one damn thing after another ever since.
As far as my book-writing “career,” such as it is: I was bemoaning the fact that no one had ever written a decent book about Jean Harlow, and the thought occured, “well, why the hell don’t I write one?” So now I just write the books I’d like to read but that no one else has gotten around to writing yet.
. . . Of course, it could have something to do with the nurse dropping me on my head when I was a baby, too . . .
I enjoy doing it, and I’m reasonably good at it. And unlike bowling (something else that I enjoy doing and I’m reasonably good at), other people can benefit from my writing.
It stands to reason, therefore, that I should like to get paid for it.
'Nuff said.
A distinction could be made between those who write for organizations (newspapers, magazines, or corporations) and thus get a stable paycheck and those who write on a more speculative basis.
Motivations abound. Some people write because it is a beautiful art form–a challenging, creative, liberating process not unlike painting, sculpting or composing music. Another (of many) reason why some might choose to devote their lives to writing is they wish to emerge from obscurity and leave some enduring (if ultimately inpermanent) legacy.
The same question could be posed: why do so many people want to be musicians?
impermanent.
Writers write because they can’t not write.
I’m a masochist.
Well, since I was the one who started the Jobs thread that inspired this one, I’ll speak up.
I’m not really sure why I want to be a writer. I used want to be a ton of other things, most notably an actress. But then I realized that writing is the only thing I really know how to do, and the only thing I like doing that I could possibly make a career out of. I’m not saying I’ll make it; I can’t predict the future. I’ll certainly have another job and writing will be a “part-time job”, so to say. If I make it, I make it. If I don’t, I don’t and I’m still doing my job that I had been doing. I’ll still keep writing. The thing that keeps me going is the fact that perhaps I could make it, that I could make a reasonable career out of it and not just a part-time thing. I could listen to everyone who tells me it sucks and I’ll never make it, and sure, maybe it’s true and I’ll just stop right now. But some of the most famous and good entertainers (literature, Hollywood, whatever) of the past century didn’t listen to those people who told them they would never make it and look where they ended up. I’m a negative and cynical person in almost every aspect, except this one thing.
Well, that’s my response. If I’m idealist, fine. If I’m unrealistic, fine. Then I’m an idealist, unrealistic wannabe. But I’m still going to write.
That fits me to a t… I’ve always gotten ideas popping into my head and I’ve lost them if I don’t write them down… (I can be fairly flightly at times) As a child I loved to read and was very imaginative… I lost that for a bit before I started to find myself again and rediscovered my inner world. With that discovery (though not constant) I have many great ideas… some even for a few Fantasy novels if I ever got the courage and patience to write them out.
I’ve even lost sleep at times because I couldn’t not write knowing that with the sun’s rising it would be gone like the wind. If I could sell what I write… that would be amazing. But I don’t look to do that. I just write because I must…
I think most writers also have huge egos. I know I do. It’s very exhilerating to know that people are reading what you think, and reacting to it in some way. Hell, even the negative reactions are fine, because at least you forced someone to feel something.
I don’t want to be a writer – I want to be a popular, successful writer.
To score with women, of course. Sheesh
When Theodore Sturgeon was asked why he wrote, he reportedly gave the questioner a sad look and said “Because it’s easier than not writing.” Sort of the same thought that RealityChuck noted.
David Gerrold, like Eve, says that he writes books he wants to read that no one has written yet.
I agree with them both.
Sr Rhosis