Creative Suffering

As I work to revise Chapter Eighteen (where I'm at with my first beta reader) and Chapter Two (where I'm at with my second beta reader), a few questions keep circulating in my mind:

1).  Does a writer have to suffer for his writing to be good?

2).  Does the degree to which a writer suffers determine the quality of his work?  (In other words, if a writer suffers more, is his writing going to be necessarily better?)

Of course, I'm not talking about suffering in the same way as the poor people of Nepal are suffering right now, after the devastating 7.8 earthquake that hit there last Saturday.  That's another type of suffering altogether, one related to the very survival of human beings.  Nothing about the experience of suffering in the writing process comes close to that.   

What I'm talking about is the agony that some writers feel when they're creating something.  In my case, the agony is the difference between what I know my writing could be, what it actually is, and the enormous amount of work involved in trying to bridge that gap.  Many times, I doubt I have the talent, ability, or patience to get it there.  That's the source of my frustration and agony.

Some people love the writing process and don't seem to suffer at all.  I know a fellow blogger who appears to love everything about writing.  I've never heard him complain once about any aspect of it–from creating that first draft out of nothing, to rewriting and editing, to working with a professional editor to take his writing to a publishable level (by the way, he is a published writer).  He inspires me with his attitude, not to mention his ability and talent.  He is a truly gifted writer. 

I wonder, then, how much of the agony some writers experience has to do with their attitudes toward their writing.  If my blogger friend has such a positive attitude toward writing, and, therefore, finds himself enjoying the process of writing, do all I have to do is follow his example?  If I approach my writing with fewer expectations and leave myself more open to the magic and beauty of it, am I more likely to experience writing as a magical and beautiful experience?

In other words, if I were more positive about writing, would I lessen my creative suffering and enjoy the process more?

I'm going to give that a try.  It couldn't hurt.