Permit me to draw your attention to a typically dry, dark and humorous article from the brilliant Scottish writer Daniel Kalder; the first paragraph of which I’d really like to highlight:

“It’s important to seek wonder in everyday life, to retain a child’s fascination for simple things. This is not always simple – the sheer grind of daily life can easily knock the joie de vivre out of your system. Fortunately you can find wonder in the most unexpected places, so long as you keep your eyes open.”

That’s the very best motivation for writing, I reckon, and sums up a lot of what motivates me – but in much better wording than I could manage.  I ought to pin the quote up somewhere.

Incidentally, I can highly recommend Kalder’s two compelling and unusual travelogues: Lost Cosmonaut and Strange Telescopes.