In this paper, I have argued that Flower and Hayes' (1981) Cognitive Process Theory of Writing might be enriched by the insights that derive from Simon's (1969) understanding of artifice as an element of the environment and from Todd and Gigerenzer's (2007) construct of ecological rationality. I have used Simon's parable of the ant to explain the apparent disjunction between a recursive writing process that executes short-term problem-solving strategies serially and the textual product that is characterized by linearity and over-all coherence. Similarly, I have used Todd and Gigerenzer's (2007) construct of ecological rationality to explain how effective writers manage the complex interplay of their changing goals, on one hand, and the demands of an emerging text on the other.