Motivation comes in different forms

What motivates a person to write? Well, of course, having an assignment due can most often light a fire under someone's ... under someone. But then what? I know people who can sit for hours next to pencil, paper, and a blank Word document and not write. The clock is ticking and it appears that nothing is going on in the noggin. However, this apparently idle behavior is not what it seems. Some people have to have days of writer's block before they purge on paper. Some must have no plan at all and write, when the mood strikes, every thing that could possibly be said on a topic and sort it all out later into essay form. Others must have a plan. These folk may spend days not writing a single sentence, but instead make multiple lists of ideas, organizing and reorganizing these in outline form, fretting over what order makes the most sense and feeling like they'll never actually write anything until something clicks (usually an imminent deadline) and they write for seven grueling hours everything they had so meticulously organized. I couldn't really say that either of these processes is healthy or allows a good night's sleep! But, these are the behaviors I've observed, and it might be reassuring for people to realize that others struggle with motivation too.

Don't listen to anyone who says you can't write.

As a new writer you might worry about your writing a lot. Perhaps someone in the past said you weren't good at writing or had a negative attitude toward something you wrote and hurt your confidence. Here are a few misconceptions that new writers have often internalized about "good writing" and why they aren't cutting the mustard:
"I can't write. I'm a horrible speller."
"I can't write. I'm much better at just talking."
"I can't write. I'm not a creative person."
OK, so what if you can't spell, feel more comfortable talking, and don't have a creative bent? These three things do NOT make it impossible to write well. First, all writing should go through the revision process many times and be looked at by other people for errors; professional writers have plenty of people read their early drafts and final drafts. So, if you spell poorly, other people can help you out, but poor spelling does not equal poor writing. Second, if you are more comfortable talking, tell your story into a voice recorder and then transcribe what you said! I know many people who can tell a good story but freeze up if asked to write it. Why fight the paper or computer screen? Just talk, record, and transcribe. Then have your team of readers offer advice on the written version. Third, who said you have to be creative to write? There are wonderful pieces of very useful writing which are not creative works at all! Informative writing helps us fix our appliances, plan our weddings, make recipes, and even run our government. Entire careers are built on a field called "technical writing." So, even if you can't write a poem or tell a story, you can write meaningful work that makes the world go around.