Writing is a voyage of the heart; a process by which the man of the world walks in the ways of the inner man. While it may be useful to analyze why a writer wrote a particular story, by reading his letters, listening to what he says about his friends and foes, or by finding out how he conducted himself in his personal life or how he got on with his mother or whether he believed in God, and so on, we mustn't forget that beneath the act of creation lies a mystery. Interpretations speak volumes of the interpreter but say very little about the author. If the author has tried his best to be truthful in his fiction, he will know that the way a story unfolds is hidden even from him. While his mind and body are engaged in setting down what he wants to say, something else that is not just him but some larger reality that contains him, decides what eventually ends up on the page. That something else is like the breath of life - the writer does not know where it comes from, but he knows he must breathe.
Source: Folger Shakespeare Library