What came first the author or the voices?

What is is that drive people to write? I have read bios that state that the need started at an early age and other where it started after the author's children are grown. What is it that drives a person to create stories? Are we all suffering from a undiagnosed form of schizophrenia? LOL especially when you think that characters has a tendency to take over a story and run opposite to what the author originally had in mind. *glaring at my own charries*

For me it started when I was in middle school. A friend of mine, named Cynthia Bellen, would write stories about us with our favourite pop stars at the time. I remember being so envious of her. I loved reading everything she wrote, and not just because in her stories Simon Lebon (of DuranDuran fame) fell completely, hearts and roses, in love with me). It was the way she made it seem so real. I remember she even let us dictate what we would be wearing. If memory serves, and we are going a few years back here, my favourite outfit of choice was a sparkly black and silver halter top, with skin tight black jeans and granny boots. (Hey it was the 80's LOL.) Cynthia is the one who I have to thank for planting the first seeds of my writing obsession. I wish I never lost contact with her.

That small kernel, which was nurtured by Mrs Hartley, my grade 12 advanced English teacher, has grown to almost a chorus of voices in my head, nurtured by many years of RPG's and other creative writing workshops.

Of course now-a-days my obsession has to battle for attention with real life needs. But despite all the distraction and such I have been giving the voices time to speak, even if they start talking at 1AM. Man I wish they would choose a better time.
My word count is rising, yes I know I need to update the counter. Every word puts me a bit closer to my dream.

Of course every word put me close to a new world I'm not sure what to do in....agents, contracts, self publicity....but I'll worry about that when I come to it.

See positive thinking, WHEN I come to it, not if. *BG*

So for those of you who share my obsession...What sparked your obsession??