Writer Problems #3: Creativity, Thou Art A Cruel Mistress!

One of my problems as a writer was that when I was younger I would always want to write, but I'd never know what to say when I had a pen in my hand or a computer before me. I would find myself struck down with the worst case of writers block.

Similarly I also had moments where I knew what to write in certain places, but there were large plotholes in my mind and I couldn't fathom them, or I wasn't excited enough about a story to write it.

However, as soon as I have a dissertation to finish/edit I suddenly have all the ideas for books and characters and all I want to do is spin beautiful fiction and get my ideas out, and writing down some notes turns into writing the first chapter and so essentially what I am saying is I have spent the past half hour not doing what I was supposed to.

Novel, go away. I'm busy with work. Come back and play next weekend and we can be best friends, I swear.

Creativity, thou art a cruel mistress.

Anne Rice started most recent book series "on a whim"

The Phoenix New Times has an article about Anne Rice, and it states that she began her current werewolf series on a whim. Rice, who is most famous for her vampire chronicles, is celebrating the pending release of The Wolves of Midwinter, the sequel to her first wolf novel called The Wolf Gift.
Both her Vampire Chronicles and her Wolf Gift series deal with the idea of remaining human despite becoming a preternatural being.

Do you start writing on a whim or do you put lots of ideas together over time before writing?
For all of you sticking with Camp NaNoWriMo NaNoWriMo you have my full support.