When I read, I'm purely a reader
I didn't really choose to write; I more or less fell into it.
I do write long, long character notes - family background, history, details of appearance - much more than will ever appear in the novel. I think this is what lifts a book from that early calculated, artificial stage.
(About parenting:) ... all that tedium, broken up by little spurts of high drama.
If I waited till I felt like writing, I'd never write at all.
I'll write maybe one long paragraph describing the events, then a page or two breaking the events into chapters, and then reams of pages delving into my characters. After that, I'm ready to begin