For me it started with my sixth grade teacher when she gave us a writing assignment. Afterward she pulled me aside once she'd graded them and told me I might want to look into being a writer. Those words have stayed with me over the years and I ended up writing a novel. As with many writers it was garbage, but it certainly gave me the drive to pursue writing courses and keep at it with a different concept.
Right now I have a novel idea I'm still working on the specifics for, and should be able to begin work on it soon. Until I get more of the details hammered out, I've been posting my short stories to a blog; because otherwise they might never see the light of day.
I believe links were okay'd for here:
http://lotwordsmiths.blogspot.com/