I don't mean in the sense that 'why am I writing this' I mean like, the reason for writing a particular part of a story. For example, I could easily just tell the story about a Half Kitsune kid genius who's parents were master thieves. That alone is a fine enough premise, but I don't know, I feel compelled to tell the short story of how her parents met and fell in love to begin with. I'm just having too much fun with these two characters and wanted to do 'more' I guess?
I don't think it really matters too much for any particular story (unless you're consciously writing for a purpose, like to make a political point or to stretch your writing skills by trying something new). But it can be interesting to look over your work for recurring patterns. Like, maybe you always give your protagonist a bratty kid sister, or maybe your villains usually have a pet to humanize them. Maybe you tend to write very internal stories without much action, or you always seem to work in a subplot about aesthetics. Or katanas. Or the aesthetics of the katana! You get the point. Weird specific things that crop up again and again can point to a weakness that you can address now that you've noticed it. Or maybe not a weakness, but a fascinating side of your thought process that you has never noticed before. Fun!
I think part of me wanted to see what I could do, and to challenge myself with a couple of scene types I don't really write. I hardly ever write a segment where the scene is keeping track of characters actions in different locations that much. And I hardly ever write romance, and I don't think I've ever made any thief characters before. I guess I also just want to have SOMETHING simple enough that even I could animate it, provided I ever get the resources and learning required.
