We’re doing a short series on perspectives that go against conventional wisdom. If you’re just now joining us, I encourage you to go back and catch the last few entries in this series.

Let me ask you an honest question. Do you love the work of being a writer?

Here’s what I mean. Do you love the process of coming up with ideas, writing multiple drafts, editing, and working on the design or layout of blog posts or books? Do you take pleasure in the overall creative process?

Or are you more interested in the end result? Do you see all those other things as an irritation or annoyance on the way to getting to the end result?

This is an important question. I believe if you’re going to be successful over the long haul as a writer, you must learn to love every step of the process. The author Dorothy Parker said, “I hate writing. I love having written.”

We all can relate to that, but it’s also a sad commentary on our obsession with the end result.

Sometimes you hear about world-class actors who really relish the process of bringing a character to life, or even living in character on set. Heath Ledger and Daniel Day-Lewis were famous for that. They loved the process, not just going to the movie premiere and seeing themselves on screen.

If you don’t love the drafting or editing process so much, I want you to start seeing it as your friend, as a companion that helps you to produce a better end result. When you come to love the process as much as the end result, the writing life becomes something you can enjoy every day, not just once every year or two when you release a book.

Wouldn’t that be so much more fun?

Question: Do you love every part of the writing process? Why or why not?