Becoming Obsessed with the Writing Process

Becoming Obsessed with the Writing Process | By Amy Roullier

For a long time, I thought writing was about being chosen. Chosen by readers. Chosen by publishers. Chosen by algorithms, metrics, numbers on a screen that would somehow prove my words mattered. It hadn’t started that way, but a few years down the road, being chosen became a more important factor in my writing.

But about a year ago, my viewpoint shifted.

The validation I’d been craving all seemed a bit hollow. Sure, it would be nice if more people resonated with what I wrote. Amazing if I reached a wider audience who approved of what I write. But the reason I started writing was never for approval or acceptance from others, it’s because I love writing.

I’m not thinking about whether or not my writing will sell when I’m in the moment – either frantically trying to keep up with the words spilling from my fingertips, or looking out of windows as I wrap my hands around a cup of coffee and let the words slowly find their way out of me – I’m not wondering whether something I share might go viral. I’m writing because it feeds my soul.

I’m still trying to sell my writing of course. I still want people to read it. I still dream about giving up the day job, disappearing into the countryside, huddling up somewhere quiet and writing for days on end – true writer/hermit goals. Of course I do. But I’m no longer consumed by the outcome.

I’m obsessed with the process.

And honestly? That obsession has changed everything.

When the Process Becomes the Point

Become obsessed with the writing process and every project is worth doing. Become obsessed with the process and if you art had begun feeling like a transaction, it will start feeling like oxygen again.

Writing is something that keeps me alive, and I only silently hope it one day might pay my rent, not the other way around.

It’s so easy to let art become tainted by reality. To let capitalism creep in and convince us that the only worthwhile creation is one that sells. That if it doesn’t make money, it doesn’t matter. But think about the moments that made you fall in love with writing in the first place.

• Writing at 2am because sleep won’t come until the thoughts are out of your head and on the page.
• Pulling the car over just to type a blog idea into your phone before it disappears.
• Saying no to a weekend plan because you’ve carved out Saturday as a writing day. A soul-nurturing day. A day that fills you up so you can walk into the next week a little lighter than before.

That’s the magic.

Not the money. Not the numbers. Not who might read it.

It’s the fire in your soul that refuses to go out.

Art Is Soul Food (And Capitalism Is a Terrible Chef)

Art is soul food. Creation is soul nurturing. The act of writing brings so much joy (and release, and healing, and general all-round therapy). And you will slowly kill that passion, quietly, subtly, if you make it all about the end result. If you turn your writing into nothing but a capitalist venture.

If you became famous, you’d have more money. Money is great. I want more money too. I’m not pretending otherwise. But a mind consumed with making money over making art is not the right headspace for creating beautiful things.

Beautiful things don’t exist to justify themselves with profit.

They exist to be felt. To be admired. To remind us that we’re human.

When you create from a place of obsession with outcomes, you tighten up. You censor yourself. You start asking, Will this sell? Will this land? Will this be liked?

When you create from obsession with the process, you loosen your grip. You experiment. You take risks. You evolve.

That’s where the good stuff lives.

Obsess. Experiment. Evolve.

So become obsessed with the writing process.

Experiment.
Innovate.
Evolve.
Create.

Do it again. And again. And again.

Allow yourself creative freedom. Not for fame, not for fortune, but because you want to be the best artist version of yourself you can be.

Because you deserve to love what you’re making.

From One Indie Writer to Another

Good luck, fellow writer. You’re not alone in the trenches. I’m right here too, spending hour upon hour honing my craft.

It’s been five years now, and the growth is undeniable. If I showed you a blog from 2021 versus one from now… A poem from early 2024 versus one from late 2025… If you sifted through my old notes and then rummaged through the ones I’m making today… You’d see evolution.

Not in mass followings, viral reels, or thousands of book sales.

But you’d see a woman slowly shrugging off self-doubt. A writer allowing herself to take up space. An artist growing more confident as her voice sharpens and settles. You’d see a writer becoming obsessed with the process.

And honestly? That’s the real win.