If someone in a writing workshop tells you he knows exactly what you need to do in order to create a masterpiece, you should find a new seat. While some people are naturally talented at writing, churning out classic after classic, very few people, if any at all, can tell you how to craft a masterpiece.
Let’s begin with the writing process. Typically, writers begin with a rough draft. They put down everything they can imagine for a story, which usually means a few poignant scenes, an interesting character, and possibly a desirable resolution. It is this point, the rough draft, that separates the hobby writers from the professional writers. The professional writer knows his job has only begun, while the hobby writer is quite content. The professional writer knows that the greatest amount of time in writing is devoted to revision, while the hobby writer believes revision is simply the process of making a small change here and there.
It is extraordinarily rare for this first draft of any story to be published. Most professional writers take the first draft as a starting point. It gives them a chance to get to know what kind of story they are dealing with. While a story idea is brewing in the brain, it is often difficult to determine exactly what it will be about. It is common for a writer to put a story on paper, only to decide afterward that it is not as interesting as imagined. Perhaps the story did not translate well on paper.
Once a story is on paper, however, you must begin that most arduous of writing tasks, the revision process. You’ll have to really dig in if you desire to turn out something good. Perhaps you’ll have to revise it a dozen times or even two dozen times. A good story is a work of art, like a painting or a sculpture. It requires careful attention, study, and the ability to make major changes again and again.
But where in the writing and revision process does a story become a classic?
I don’t know, and I don’t think any other writer could answer this question either. While a mistake in a story is often easy to spot, a masterful design is not so easy to spot. That’s why I focus on fixing problems instead of seeking awesomeness. I treat each rough draft as an artist would treat a drawing or a painting that’s slowly being developed. Start with an outline. Draw gently on the paper. Don’t put any finishing marks on it. Wait to darken lines until the entire thing is there.