I came across this quote today by John Steinbeck:

"A writer out of loneliness is trying to communicate like a distant star sending signals. He isn't telling or teaching or ordering. Rather he seeks to establish a relationship of meaning, of feeling, of observing. We are lonesome animals. We spend all life trying to be less lonesome. One of our ancient methods is to tell a story begging the listener to say - and feel - "Yes, that's the way it is, or at least that's the way I feel it. You're not as alone as you thought." 

He felt compelled to write but in the same breath describes all the ways that he would procrastinate or make excuses not to write. He would get fixated on his pencils, becoming very particular about brands and leads. This push and pull defines any writer's competing instincts. When you're feeling bad you want to retreat from the world but you know the only thing that will save you is the possibility of someone else out there knowing what you're trying to say. So, like a man stranded by the side of the highway, you send out a flare and wait.