I experience two joys, one with fiction and one with non-fiction writing.

When I write fiction, I really enjoy seeing what happens. Watching how the characters morph the story as they add their own say, that is often surprising and very cool.

With non-fiction, I most enjoy sharing knowledge. Much of my non-fiction is designed to help people solve problems, and if even one person is able to read my writing and resolve an issue, then that's why I do it. That is very, VERY cool.

Next I will be working on publishing a book for veterans, aimed at helping them get into, pay for, and graduate from college.

#1 by a long shot is Piers Anthony. The Author's Notes in his /Incarnation of Immortality/ series are almost as much fun to read as his fiction!
After that, I love Heinlein, Tolkein, Herbert, Morrison, Stephenson, Gibson, and Vinge.

I read, hike, and ride my bicycle.

I *think* so. I don't remember writing stories before English 101 in college; before that, I was a poet like my grandmother before me. The first story I remember writing was non-fiction; an essay on my experience in Desert Storm (which, eventually, became my book /With It or In It/). The first fiction story I wrote was a short story based in the universe of Battletech and Mechwarrior, about the leader of a Lance of heavy 'Mechs who goes insane during a battle.

It depends on the genre and the kind.

Blog writing is mostly brainstorming topics. Once I have a series of topics I feel I can cover adequately, I write an outline for each one, and then fill it in with research or personal knowledge, depending on the topic.

For fiction writing, I first outline the plot, covering all of the major elements and structuring the project in my writing tool of choice, Scrivener (which I use for all of my writing, except things like this where it's just easier to type in the text box). Then, I sit down and write each scene in the outline. I also will read in-genre, to see how other authors have tackled some of the things I run across.

I am hardly a designer! I start by throwing together something, then running it by my friend who is a graphic artist. About 90% of the time she doesn't like it at all, and gives me tips on how to make it better.