Saylor.org's English Composition/How Writing as a Process Differs from Writing as a Product

One of the great misconceptions of writing that the end product is more important than the process by which that product is achieved. This is not necessarily true. A good writing 'product' will only be achieved through an adequate writing process. Writing as a product implies something very static. A solid block of text that always was and always will be. Writing as a process reflects the realities of writing. Sometimes writing is just difficult. You can suffer from writer's block and you can't think of anything to write. Or you can have a sudden burst of energy and fill a page, only to realize upon revision that what seemed so brilliant at 3 am now makes no sense at all. Some people find this aspect of writing to be frustrating. However, if you accept writing as a process, you can begin to appreciate these are merely natural stages of the writing process. Good writing takes time and effort. Writing as a process requires you to rethink your ideas and contemplate dramatic revisions ranging from adding additional paragraphs to scraping your argument altogether.