The best writers actually enjoy writing. pg told me that to him an unwritten essay is like an uneaten piece of cake. I realized that that feeling is foreign to me. I'd probably be a better writer if I liked it more.
David Foster Wallace seemed to use writing as a way to treat his various depressions and ailments - as a way to "continue" almost.
So perhaps enjoyment isn't the write word, but pg is describing a thing akin to a hunger that must be satisfied. Dang doesn't have that impetus. I do. So I write.
Perhaps someday I shall get read as well. ;-)
I'd be surprised if DFW never enjoyed the mechanics of putting words together. Depression kills enjoyment, but that is a separate issue.
From what I've read he was raised with a great love for words and read the dictionary for fun as a kid. On top of that his writing is known for being 'meta', which is very much about the mechanics.
He always struck me as a writer unusually excited about the mechanics, unusual words, the structure of his articles and books, and so on.
As for his depression: I can't help but wonder to what degree his writing might've actually worsened his issues instead of treated them. Whenever I read something of his I cannot help but feel like it's both a diagnosis and example of a particular class of issues that is very much worsened by dwelling on them too much. Like an active alcohol writing about alcoholism and self-triggering a desire for more alcohol.
Of course perhaps that's exactly what makes me love his works so much, because they seem honest and very accurate. Maybe that kind of accuracy is difficult to pull of if you're writing purely from memory or imagination.
(Which is, of course, a disaster, since it means I almost never write anything but comments.)
That probably sounds complainey and (illustrating my point here) I don't mean it that way. It's more of a "huh" feeling.