Writers Block

[James Yenesel]

Hello Everyone! I've been playing guitar for 4 years and writing lyrics for the same length of time. I have come up with a dilemma that has plagued me for a long time. One Summer I went on a writing spree and wrote about 8 songs that I loved and was super excited about. Eventually I starting working 8-5, Monday to Friday for a year to get some money for college. I started writing less and less as I became more and more busy. Now I can hardly write a full verse and what I do write I feel like it isn't good enough and move on without looking back at it. What I am asking is how to find inspiration and get the drive to write lyrics again. I'm all open for ideas and would love to hear from all of you!

 

~James

[Rudi]

Tom,

 

I had to re-read this to recall the article properly.

 

In all my 18 years of songwriting, I never once sat down to write, without first having an idea. Not only have I never done it, it's difficult for me to imagine why anyone would want to try.

 

 

I actually write most of my lyrics without having an idea to begin with. I’m sure this has been discussed before. I certainly discussed it with someone. It’s not a song at this stage though. It certainly is a creative piece of work though.

In itself, it’s just another process. No different to your way of beginning with a riff or chord pattern.

 

The difficulty then comes in finding a way of putting those words to music. Most times I don’t. I just leave them there until I need them. Then I have to change the meter of the words, prune back the length of lines & generally decimate my nice words. Hopefully, I will emerge with a song that still has some semblance of the original sense I began with.

 

James.

 

Are you are still there? If so post a reply and then I'll outline the process for you.

[James Yenesel]

Bill I feel i can relate to what you said with not being able to put words to the music. Alot of the times i can jam out a cool chord progression or riff, get a general idea of what I want to say and write but never get past that part. Maybe I'm rushing the whole process and not respecting the time, effort and creativity of making a song.

[McnaughtonPark]

I'll have to say I go along with Rudi on this.  However, since I usually get the words first, It's rare that strumming initiates the song. 

 

A new process, for me, has been to strum the chord progression and just sing words, any words, to find a melody.  Some of those words stick, I sing them everytime through the progression.  Layers.  When I get to the point that I can fill 8 bars with the same words over and over, I then think about what the song is about.  Is this the chorus, is it a strong enough hook?  Maybe I've laid out the verse instead.  Where can I take it?  But again, this is all new to me so I don't know if this method is sound advice or not.

 

When only writing lyrics, the page truly is blank.  There are any number of ways to start.  Look at a color, an entire scene, a special person, a fond memory, the smell of dinner, it's all open for interpretation.  There are literally thousands of topics, why we stick to love is obvious, feelings are the tug to which the lyric writer holds the string of.  That statement alone conjours up an image of a ball of string so I'm lead to ask what color is it?  Is it all white or is it colorfull?  Where did all the strings come from?  Is there one I have to keep tucking back in or any that I wish would fall off?  Is it rolling around or stuck in a corner or hidden in a box in the back of a shelf?

 

And I continue with the thought process until I decide whether or not I like the idea.  If I like it, I'll pull out some other tools.  A thesaurus, a rhyming dictionary and start looking up new ways of presenting the idea.  Since being put on a shelf is cliche, I'll look to change how that line is written.  Since box, socks, clocks are worn out rhymes, I'll try not to end a line with that word.  In the back of my mind, i'm focused on the ball of string, I'm writing in that direction, don't use string/thing, don't want to use string/being because I want to use perfect rhyme in the chorus, so what can I find in the rhyming dictionary to pull off a string rhyme?  Swing,bring,Spring.   I like spring.  Now the image changes to one of spring, the season of new growth, the images of coming back to life and I know I want that ball of string to lose some of the old threads.  I know where the lyric is heading.

 

Writers block doesn't really end with thinking, it ends with writing. 

 

Peace

 

MP

[Just1L]

James,

 

I hear you and Rudi quoted Tom on something I find interesting, that can be related back to another link on this site about Challenges of Becoming Successful. One thing that was mentioned is music really isn't a 9 to 5 job. You need to be ready when that inspiration hits to at least be able to hum the melody you're hearing or write down the words that just popped into your head. 

 

For me, I work 40 hours a week (non-music related), father of two that I'm scout den leaders for and constantly driving them from one activity to another (swimming, scouts, baseball, basketball & more!), as well as a freelance graphic designer in the evenings. My goal in life is to spend more time with my family before the kids move out and all I have are memories to look back on. So my writing process is a slow one. I can go weeks without ever picking up a guitar much less sitting down to try and write or record stuff. So I'd say about 90% of the work I do on songs all takes place in my head, throughout the day, evening, whenever something inspires me or pops in my head. Sometimes trying too hard can have the opposite effect of what you really want. I can have a new idea or lyric I want to try and I spend all day thinking about it, hoping to work in it in the evening, only to have to wait a week or so to actually do anything. So I write whenever the inspiration hits me. 

 

As far as music goes, one of my favorite methods is starting out with a cool riff or chord progression. The best thing I've found that works is to record that riff/progression and play it a bunch of times. I then take it to the car, which is the only place I really get to listen to music. I listen to it over and over and eventually lyrics, or a nice transition into another section just kind of comes naturally. I believe listening to that music leads you to where it should naturally go. Then get back and play and record.

 

It is a long process but for those that lack time it's worked for me in the past. It is highly frustrating to want to work on a song but are unable to but it is what it is. And, to me, the best part is figuring out those next set of lyrics or chord progression. It's like a puzzle just waiting to be solved.

 

And Toms method above is also a good one. Sing to the song whatever words come to mind. The important thing in this process isn't the actual words as much as it is the natural melody that is popping out. Like he said, sometimes a really great line or set of words will pop out that really stick and you kind of build from there.

 

Good luck and stick with it.

 

Randy

Edited February 18, 2015 by Just1L

[Rudi]

Writing processes can be liberating. There is one I always wanted to try & have not done yet. Oddly its little like what I used to try as a young new writer. Quite simply, leave the words ‘til last, and make the melody as fully complete as possible before attempting lyrics.

 

This was the example given between the collaboration of Robert Hunter & Phil Lesh when writing ‘Box Of Rain’. Both were interviewed about the way they worked on the song during the Classic Albums series TV show. This episode concerned ‘Anthem to Beauty’ – Grateful Dead. (a film by Jeremy Marre)

 

 

Phil LESH (music):

Bob HUNTER (words):

From Classic Albums: American Beauty:

 

LESH: (On "Box of Rain"): The lyrics came about in an unusual way. This was the first time I had written a song in a long time, and I had worked out the melody and the chords, and in fact the whole song, from beginning to end—introduction, coda, and everything—and I put it on a tape and gave it to Hunter.

 

HUNTER: He'd just written these lovely changes and put 'em on a tape on a tape for me, and he sang along (scat singing of melody)—so the phrasing was all there, I think I went through it two or three times, writing as fast as I could, and that song was written. I guess it was written for a young man whose father was dying.

 

LESH: And at that time, my dad was dying of cancer, and I would drive out to visit with him, in the hospital, and also at the nursing home he spent his final days in, and after Bob gave me the lyrics, on the way out there I would practice singing the song. I sort of identified that song with my dad and his approaching death. The lyrics that he produced were so apt, so perfect. It was very moving, very moving for me to experience that during the period of my dad's passing. I felt like singing it in other situations similar to that since then.

 

Extract (Box Of Rain)

 “Maybe you're tired and broken
Your tongue is twisted
with words half spoken
and thoughts unclear
What do you want me to do
to do for you to see you through
A box of rain will ease the pain
and love will see you through

 

Just a box of rain -
wind and water -
Believe it if you need it,
if you don't just pass it on
Sun and shower -
Wind and rain -
in and out the window
like a moth before a flame”

[Rudi]

BTW James,

 

The 'process' I spoke of in post #4 is explained with examples in a separate thread called

 

Lyric Writing Creatively

http://forums.songstuff.com/topic/40695-lyric-writing-creatively/

 

on this forum

Edited February 20, 2015 by tunesmithth
added link for easy access

[James Yenesel]

Bill, reading through your post on here and the link you shared brought me back to senior year english class. One of the exercises we did was where we would write continuously for specific amount of time (10 minutes or so), we would write whatever came to mind and roll with it till the idea ended and continue the process. It is truly an interesting concept that I will have to do immediately. I feel by this way i can take a line or phrase and expand on it, and eventually have lyrics that make sense and flow much more smoothly.  

[Guest]

"Writer's block" doesn't exist.

 

(Unless you disagree with that statement; and then it does.)

[Rudi]

Bill, reading through your post on here and the link you shared brought me back to senior year english class. One of the exercises we did was where we would write continuously for specific amount of time (10 minutes or so), we would write whatever came to mind and roll with it till the idea ended and continue the process. It is truly an interesting concept that I will have to do immediately. I feel by this way i can take a line or phrase and expand on it, and eventually have lyrics that make sense and flow much more smoothly.  

 

Great. I dont know if it can work for everyone, but I would encourage anyone with writers block to try it. There have been some complimentary responses on the Lyric Writing Creatively thread. But I posted it up as a workable method of tapping into creativity, so I hope it can be of practical use to someone.

 

It was difficult to post it because the thought processes involved are so personal, but if I hadn't used examples, it might not have been taken as seriously.

[MonoStone]

I don't think you need an idea to write lyrics... you don't need a conscious reason...

 

Try this... If you have the chord progression, record it, give it plenty of bars so you have time to experiment.

 

Now play it back in headphones and record your voice, and rather than thinking what you want to write, just see how the music makes you feel and start singing STUFF... make sounds, nonsense words...go with the flow. It should come out as nonsense (avoid just jamming typical 'baby baby...love you... etc etc ...    Go deep, just make sounds. Put the flow first.

 

Ok... now play it back, and write down what you think you might have been saying. e.g. if you sung "Wuderwul" maybe that's "Wonderful" or..maybe it's "What do I/we/you"... just write down what seems to suit best, don't overthink it.

 

Try to get just a few lines that way.... Read it back, and see what it might be about... again don't think too much, just get the general feel...and then start filling it out. i.e. you should be getting a theme about now, so you can fill in the gaps. Try to keep to the same syllables as the nonsense version. Keep building and refining... In the end you'll hopefully have something meaningful to you. Maybe it won't work for everyone...but it can work.

 

----------

 

Or... Try what Bowie learned from the beat poets... get several pages of words from books, newspapers, anywhere... and cut them up randomly (but in straight rectangles so you get 1 full word or maybe 2 or 3 words per cut. Vary it.) Actually a lot easier these days, just cut and paste on computer.

 

Put all your random words in a pile... and then begin putting them back together. Arrange them so that they tell part of a story or begin to say something meaningful to you...again fill in the gaps... think what the words are telling you, and correct them. You might not have many of the originals left when you're done, or you might have all of them. Also refine it to fit the phrasing/flow you need.

 

In the end you're still writing, still expressing yourself...it's coming from deeper within you and the restriction of the cuttings forces you to say things in a different way and talk about things you might not usually.

 

------------

 

So if you can't think what you want to say... try one of those methods. They do work. Plenty of very respected songwriters have used the cut-up method (Bowie, Cobain, Thom Yorke, to name a few...)

 

... Coming up with the music and melody is the harder part...

 

Dek

Edited March 3, 2015 by MonoStone