When the Dream Gets Hard, Lean Into the Process

Why passion isn’t a prerequisite for progress

You’re not stuck. You’re navigating. Photo by Benjamin Elliott on Unsplash

I used to believe that passion was the driving force behind writing a novel. That if I didn’t feel inspired, something was wrong. But after more than 3,000 hours and nine revisions of my work-in-progress, I’ve learned something else: passion isn’t always there. And that doesn’t mean the work stops.

Lately, I’ve felt a lack of excitement for my novel. It’s not that I don’t care about the story—I do. I’ve poured years into it. But after so much revision, it’s easy to feel disconnected, tired, and ready to be done. The temptation to step away, to wait until the spark returns, is real.

But this month, something shifted.

I sat in my recliner, turned on my music, and outlined a new Chapter 1—for maybe the 30th version. Drafting has never been my favorite part of writing. I prefer revision, taking what already exists and making it stronger. But this was different.

At first, I was just going through the motions—listing out what needed to happen in the scene, mapping the beats, organizing my thoughts. But as I kept going, a sense of clarity replaced the doubt. I could see the story more clearly than before. The puzzle pieces started fitting together in ways they hadn’t in previous drafts.

And then, joy showed up.

Not in a big, dramatic way. It wasn’t a rush of inspiration or a sudden breakthrough. It was quiet and steady, built from the simple act of giving myself space to immerse in the work. There was joy in the uninterrupted focus, in the rhythm of thinking through story problems and solving them one by one. Joy in realizing—not hoping, but knowing—that this draft would be better than the last.

That joy didn’t come from passion—it came from trusting the process.

When I first started my novel in November 2020, I had no idea what I was doing. My premise was simple: Life is better with aloha. I wanted to explore kindness, community, and what it means to chase a dream. But I had no real sense of story structure, and my early drafts reflected that.

Since then, I’ve worked with a professional editor, rewritten entire sections, and gone through feedback from 16 early readers. I’ve studied story craft, refined my character’s emotional journey, and built a five-scene Misbelief Series that tracks her belief that she isn’t worthy.

Every revision, I’ve had to find the courage to try again. Every time, I’ve worried I wouldn’t be able to do it. And yet, here I am. Still writing. Still pushing forward. Because despite the exhaustion, despite the doubt, I love writing.

Photo by DJ Johnson on Unsplash

For five years, I’ve treated my dream like a full-time job. Writing five days a week, five hours a day. No matter how I feel, I show up. Even though I’m not getting paid for it (yet), I’ve never questioned my commitment. But recently, I’ve questioned something bigger: Was all this work even leading anywhere?

That fear—that maybe I was wasting my time—nearly took me under. But when I leaned into the process, when I let myself work without thinking about the outcome, passion found me again.

I always have to remind myself to forget about outcomes and enjoy the process—that the process is the payment. I get to write every day, and that’s a blessing.

But, Dreamer, I do want to get paid!

Living with big dreams means existing in a state of continuous becoming. You’re always testing new ideas, refining your craft, yet never knowing if the work you spend countless hours on will make any money. That unknown is hard. But the unknown of being stuck, of feeling disconnected from your work, is even harder.

If you’re in that place right now, I hope this reminds you: progress isn’t always about speed. Passion doesn’t always show up at the start. But if you trust the process, if you keep moving forward even when you don’t feel like it, joy will find you.

And if you keep going long enough, the dream might just find you, too.

Have you ever felt stuck in your creative process? How did you push through? Let’s talk about it.