The Often-Overlooked Step That Can Boost the Quality of Your Work

We generally think that a great work product – especially an artistic effort – is imagined, conceived, and launched simultaneously. But the notion that a single, smart idea can immediately turn into a brilliant final version has the same logic flaw of a newborn baby popping out of the womb with a college degree.

In fact, one of the most important steps of the creative process is often overlooked: the refinement stage. In a recent interview, Lady Gaga said that many of her songs are written in on...