This is a sample chapter from my songwriting workbook, 31 Days to Better Songwriting. This ebook launches February 16th, 2011!
Today, come Hell or high water, you are going to finish the first draft of a song.
Notice that I said first draft. It doesn’t have to be perfect—it just has to be complete.
Almost every day, frustrated songwriters find my website by searching tortured phrases like “Why can’t I finish writing songs?” I feel your pain, friends.
It’s easy to start writing a song. But if you spend your entire life just starting songs and getting stuck halfway, were you ever a songwriter?
Common Obstacles
Perfectionism
Of course it’s good to care about the quality of your work—but if it that caring deepens into fear that prevents you from writing anything down, it’s time to loosen up.
It’s absolutely fine to make a mess. The first verse can have a few subpar lines. The chorus melody can sound a little lame. You can always rewrite these weak points later! Just because it’s written down doesn’t mean it’s final.
In the beginning, let the song be as messy as it needs to be.
Impatience
Writing a song requires two things: (1) your full attention and (2) time.
Set aside a block of at least one hour. If you feel yourself getting distracted, stick with it. If you feel stuck, stick with it. Don’t do anything else. You can just sit in the chair and stare at the page, if you want, but don’t get up.
Left alone with a blank notebook page or blinking cursor, sooner or later you’ll write something.
Writing isn’t just something we do to keep a record of our final draft—it’s also a method for thinking on paper. When the song gets tough, doodle on the page. Make lists of the worst song ideas you can think of. Look up random words in the dictionary until one inspires you.
“Stuck” doesn’t have to mean “stationary.”
Is your song out of focus?
Often when progress is grueling, it’s because your energies are divided. If you’re simultaneously trying to figure out what the storyline is and how best to tell that story, the task can quickly become overwhelming.
To pull it back under your control, devote all your energies first to figuring out what the idea of the song is. What’s the theme? What’s the plot or message? Can you outline the song, or at least the first verse, before you begin?
Don’t neglect the tools!
You’ve got mines of ideas at your disposal: thesauruses, encyclopedias, wikis,and rhyming dictionaries, to name a few. If you’re writing a song about a carpenter, research famous carpenters. Do some freewriting to get in touch with your own memories of carpentry. List out all the words you can find that rhyme with “nail.” Inspiration can come from within, but it can also come from outside of yourself. If you’re stuck, hit the books.
Learn more about the craft
Read everything you can about the craft of songwriting. The more you know, the more prepared and confident you’ll be.
Clutter, noise, and distraction
If your workspace is crowded with visual distractions and noise, it’s working against you. Make sure your environment is clean and unobtrusive, with plenty of surface space to spread out on. Your writing space is your workshop, so make sure there’s room to actually do the work.
Persistence!
You can overcome any obstacle and creative block as long as you’re determined. If songwriting was easy, and everybody could do it, the skill wouldn’t be worth anything. Persistence is the difference that separates successful songwriters from those who’ve given up.
Finish! At all costs!
Set aside whatever time you have available. In that time, finish a song. If that means you have to write some lines that aren’t as good as you’d like, so be it. You can always replace them later.
One complete, imperfect song draft. Bedtime tonight is your deadline.
You’d better get going.
For 30 more chapters of pure songwriting awesomeness, check out 31 Days to Better Songwriting,available as an instant PDF download starting on February 16th, 2011!