At first glance, I thought this e-mail was from Rob Petrie but it turns out it's from Rob Peters…
Your recent discussion about the quote "I hate writing, but I love having written" reminds me of something my old high school art teacher said many years ago. I have no idea if this was original to her or not, but she said that she was able to group her students into two groups: "Process Artists" and "Product Artists."
"Process Artists" were those that created art for the pleasure of the process of creating regardless of the end result. "Product Artists" labored over every line with a focus on the end product rather than the journey to get there. I assume that Dorothy Parker, Frank Norris, or whomever said that quote was in the "Product" camp. And based on what you've said, I assume you're squarely in the "Process" camp.
Aah, I don't think I buy those two categories at all. I think the reasons any given writer writes or artist draws or composer composes are many and varied and I don't think most of us really understand them for ourselves, let alone to itemize what motivates others. I'm sure a big reason for most people would be summarized as "Well, I have to do something to make a living and I think this would be a lot more enjoyable than any of the alternatives."
And in my case, I never had a lot of alternatives because I never thought I was any good at other things. Or as I often put it when asked why I became a writer, "I just thought I was a lot less competent at everything else."
I also think most creative people become creative people because they just feel like becoming creative people.
The distinctions made by your old high school art teacher don't strike me as mutually exclusive. You can get pleasure in creating via a process that includes a focus on the end product. It's like going on some vacations: You enjoy getting there and you enjoy being there. And you may not even think of them as separate activities.
Or to paraphrase the quote we've been discussing here: I enjoy writing and I enjoy having written. And then I enjoy writing the next thing and when it's done, I'll enjoy that I finished it and start on something else.