Writer's Block. How do YOU deal?

[jeffchastain]

I fear that I am afflicted with eternal writer's block.

 

[ido1957]

Write a song, even if it's crappy. If you don't start somewhere you'll never reach the level you are trying to achieve. It's a skill that takes some talent and a little effort. Draw from your experience and feelings for lyrics. Draw from your musicain skills for the melody and chords. A song from the heart will usually be easier to write.

 

[Clark Grizwald]

Almost all the songs I've written came to me suddenly, just kinda popped in there.
I haven't had a song "pop in there" in over 20 years.
I'm not the type that fabricates a song on the spot, like cooking a meal.
I don't just follow a recipe or formula, I have to be inspired.
If I try to MAKE a song, it always sounds contrived to me or at least like someone else's song.
I've VERY good at adding things to other people's song, but can't write my own.
I've adjusted to this fact.
I collaborate with others and have laid down some very good tracks alongside other people's ideas.

But I still feel I'm missing the talent to write my own original music.

 

[dintymoore]

If songs don't "come out of nowhere", don't be too hard on yourself. Just accept that at least today, it's not going to happen. If you want to develop your craft by trying to write or if there's a business deadline, then go for it, that's fantastic. And who knows really, maybe the song will be great.

There's plenty of stuff to be done than get stuck on the fact that you're not having an inspiration. It's like trying to wish away the hiccups - the more you try the worse it gets.

Don't be too hard on yourself - you didn't kill anybody.

 

[miroslav]

If you are talking about writer's block as in not being able to even begin new songs...
...I honestly have never had that. My mind is always full of song ideas.

Just last night I was demoing a new guitar amp in my studio...and during the hour or so that I dialed through the various amp settings, I came up with 3 song ideas and I wrote down the basic chord progressions so I can come back to them at another time and build out the songs from there.

But if you are talking about being stuck part way through a song...where you can't find the chorus or the finishing verse or whatever...yeah, that happens with just about every song, and while sometimes I choose to just let the song lay until it "comes to me"...I also know that if I sit down and just beat on it without walking away after 20-30 minutes...I will be able to work it out.
I just sit there with pencil, paper rhyming dictionary, Thesaurus and my acoustic (or sometimes at the piano)...and I beat on it mercilessly until I break through.
Usually...it's just one or two lines that are blocking...and once they are cleared, everything else will flow easily.

And for me...it's never the music that holds me up...it's ALWAYS the damn lyrics!

 

[grimtraveller]

Write a song, even if it's crappy. If you don't start somewhere you'll never reach the level you are trying to achieve. It's a skill that takes some talent and a little effort. Draw from your experience and feelings for lyrics. Draw from your musicain skills for the melody and chords. A song from the heart will usually be easier to write.

Great advice as far as I'm concerned. Just write any old crap. It doesn't matter if it's derivative or off the wall. It doesn't matter if it sounds predictable. If you feel you've got a block, I don't think you can afford to be fussy with the path you take in the quest to unblock. Another thing you might try is just take someone elses song and work out a harmony to it. Use that harmony as the melody and change it around a bit, maybe a different rhythm and tempo and find a harmony to that. Try to keep changing bits in small measures and just fit whatever words that come. Doesn't matter if they don't make sense or sound poetic.
If you feel you can't force yourself to write then there's not much you can do really. Different people have different approaches but most songwriters I've heard on the subject have to push themselves at some point.

 

[Chili]

I wish the option "Keep writing" was in your poll. Write everyday no matter what it is or how good or bad it is. Keep paper and pencil handy and write thoughts down during your day. Record ideas/melodies/etc into your cellphone (most cellphones have a voice recorder function). Later, these little tidbits will give you inspiration or fill in voids in existing lyrics.

 

[Strat1958]

Write a song, even if it's crappy. If you don't start somewhere you'll never reach the level you are trying to achieve. It's a skill that takes some talent and a little effort. Draw from your experience and feelings for lyrics. Draw from your musicain skills for the melody and chords. A song from the heart will usually be easier to write.

Excellent advice. Two songs that I wrote like this are on my Soundclick page,
1. Summer Sun
2. The Blue Horizon

They were written so quickly that I was embarrassed to play them for my wife.

Summer Sun hit #1 on the Soundclick chart. It was written in the middle of February as I longed for the cold weather to go away.
The Blue Horizon is now my wife's favourite song of mine, and was actually re-recorded by our own Gecko Zzed! It was inspired by the Windows XP desktop wallpaper of a tropical island.

Both of these songs almost didn't see the light of day because I thought they were too simplistic, cliched and......well......bad!

Moral of my story: We are very poor judges of our own material!

If you're blocked, WRITE ANYWAY. Take lyrics of someone else's song as theme inspiration, and rewrite them into your style. Take a story out of the paper. Recall an interesting conversation you had with someone. Then write a crappy song about it.

However, there's no such thing as a crappy song, as evidenced by much of what's popular nowadays.

-Mike

 

[Strat1958]

Oh I forgot to mention...a rhyming dictionary is absolutely essential. I use RhymeZone.com for mine, because it breaks rhyming words into 1-syllable, 2-syllable, etc groups. Often by just seeing a rhyme, I will get inspiration for the next line or even another verse.

-Mike

 

[Chili]

Oh I forgot to mention...a rhyming dictionary is absolutely essential. I use RhymeZone.com for mine, because it breaks rhyming words into 1-syllable, 2-syllable, etc groups. Often by just seeing a rhyme, I will get inspiration for the next line or even another verse.

-Mike

+1 on RhymeZone. I find it's not as complete as a rhyming dictionary, but it's quick and simple and much easier than trying to iindex through a rhyming dictionary. Good call, Mike.

 

[Xdrummer]

Keep writing is th only logical answer. Like any other skill, writing skill is developed over time and the more you do it, the better you become.

While I do beleive the muse may come and go - if you write every day, there is a better chance the muse will find you and more importantly, the better prepared you will be when the muse does hit.

I've writen over 300 songs (of which about 75 have been lost in time). Of the remaining 225 maybe 25 are good and maybe 10 of those are very good....but I would never write the good ones if I didn;t write the bad ones.

 

[Harley13]

My technique is a little different than some of the others posted. Although I can't argue with the method "just keep writing" (you will eventually write something good, even by accident), it does get a little frustrating for me. Continuously writing crap doesn't make me wanna keep writing. I've been playing guitar for 17 years now, and I've developed my own method for increasing my success for writing good songs. Most of my music is written this way, so I know it works FOR ME (anyways).

I'm very much a night owl and have discovered that my best writing comes at about 3am. I'll often pick up my guitar just before bed, just with the intention to play for a few minutes but often find myself writing a cool riff. The trick is, DON'T GO TO BED, FINISH THE SONG. It has happened many times that I write my favorite stuff really late at night. I've also heard a number of other "artists" (ieainters,etc.) claim that they get creative really late at night too, so I don't think I'm unique in this respect.

Try writing at different times of the day, under different circumstances. You may just find a particular time of the day, or particular circumstances that work good for you. The trick is to figure out what works good for you. However, you have to be prepared to finish your work when it comes to you. Be prepared to go to bed when you're done instead of finishing it in the morning- you'll forget it or be in a different mood or something- it won't be the same.

This method is very effective for me, but I have to be prepared to finish the idea when it comes to me, and I also know that this method does not work with the intention of writing a song. Essentially the idea is to determine what factors contribute to helping you write, and then placing yourself in circumstances that help you be creative. I don't write a lot of songs, but when I do, more often than not, my best songs are written between 2am & 5am. I just tell myself that I can sleep some other time, 'cause finishing the song is more important. Just remember not to try force anything. Just pick up your guitar with the intention of playing a few riffs. You'll write the best riff when you least expect. And when you do, just keep writing. Don't stop 'till the song is done!

 

[Harley13]

My method for writing lyrics is also a little different, but works equally as good for myself. I keep a notebook of ideas. Write down any little line or words that sound good to you. Lines you think of. Lines in a movie. Even lines in commercials. The trick is, is not to plagiarize though. Allow a line in a movie to let you think of your own version of the line for example. Write it down in a notebook.
Then when I go to write lyrics, I've got a whole book of ideas to start with. One line will just jump out at you, and often give you an idea for the next line. And if not, just go thru the book and find a few lines with similar ideas, which will eventually give you a theme for the song. This also puts some of those "really cool lines" in your song. You just have to learn to keep your ears perked, listening for cool lines. Then WRITE THEM DOWN. If you don't have your notebook, any scrap of paper will do, you can always add it to your book when you get home. Just don't let yourself forget that line, 'cause you'll never think of it later!
I know my methods are a little different but I don't care, they work for me. The idea is to figure out what works for you, and if you keep trying different things, you'll eventually find what works for you.

 

[dintymoore]

I read once that the Fagen and Becker used to just write random stuff on pieces of paper, throw them down and pick them up in whatever order. Some of their lyrics sure sound like that.
For me, I'm not into poetry or telling a story that much, and it's often more about how the phonetics sound in a particular place in a song.

 

[philbagg]

I quite like Harley's ideas. I do similar things. And likewise, I find myself most creative late at night, or very early in the morning after I've gotten up, when nobody is in the house and I don't feel like I have anything to do.

 

[Manslick]

Deal me in

I think writers block is a misunderstood term.
First you have to be a writer and by that I mean someone who is a paid professional.
Just because you wrote a song and recorded it at home and put it on SoundClick does not make you a song writer.

Writers usually have a book and only Harely13 has mentioned their book. I have a book but that doesn’t make me a writer.
But I like Harely13 methods and use them myself.
I like to write things down on paper because I like the way my hand witting looks. I print it all like the words in a comic book. I was a professional draftsman for many years and developed a fine hand at printing.

Another perk to hand writing is the pace you’re forced into. You have to slow down. I can type way faster than I can print.
I don’t do much jotting down ideas, I prefer to just sit and go. I can always get back to the nut of an idea whether the words are the same is irrelevant to me, it’s the idea I want to capture.

And here is the crux of my point. To me, writing is like being a proton orbiting a nucleus.
The nucleus is the nut, which is the idea or the concept and the proton is the body of words that describe the idea.

But I still haven’t said anything about writers block.
Everything I ever read about writers having writers block follows a common theme. They think it all sucks. That is the bad part about being a pro. You feel you have to create a gem every time and that just ain’t going to happen.
I imagine it must be hell to be under contract to produce a piece and feel it’s all drivel.

So Jeff I don’t know much about you except you are Holier than thou.
If you’re a pro and you feel you’re in a slump then the only prescription is more cowbell.
If you’re not a pro then who gives a fuck? Just write.
Write anything. Write your life history or a letter to your friend.
And read, read Moby Dick or Romeo and Juliet or the New York Times – get out of your own head.
Believe me, let in, it won’t hurt you and it will come out as you.

 

[grimtraveller]

Just remember not to try force anything.

I agree with much of what Harley said but I would place it all alongside a variety of approaches. Think of all the advice thus far as a bag of tricks, each of which has their place, but not all the time or in every application.
I was struck by the comment not to force anything because some great songs have been forced. Reading, for instance, about the Beatle LP "Rubber Soul" was an eye opener for me many years back. The band were tired and feeling lacklustre with touring, drugs, hating public expectations, domestics and other things and came to the recording of that album with one or two half baked ideas and little else. Also, they had a month to have an LP done and dusted so it would be in the shops for the christmas buyers. It looked bleak but out of such shambles, they pretty much forced themselves to write, arrange and record {and in some instances re-record} the 14 songs that ended up on the Lp, plus a double A side single and an instrumental that didn't make the cut. I'm not saying they had writers block {though it was close call}, just that forcing things can be beneficial. I reckon 'Rubber Soul' was the turning point in British Lp history.
This little example could be multiplied many times over in music history among tons of writers. It's worth reiterating what Strat 1958 said - the artist is not always the best judge of their work.

 

[grimtraveller]

My method for writing lyrics is also a little different, but works equally as good for myself. I keep a notebook of ideas. Write down any little line or words that sound good to you. Lines you think of. Lines in a movie. Even lines in commercials. The trick is, is not to plagiarize though. Allow a line in a movie to let you think of your own version of the line for example. Write it down in a notebook.
Then when I go to write lyrics, I've got a whole book of ideas to start with. One line will just jump out at you, and often give you an idea for the next line. And if not, just go thru the book and find a few lines with similar ideas, which will eventually give you a theme for the song. This also puts some of those "really cool lines" in your song. You just have to learn to keep your ears perked, listening for cool lines. Then WRITE THEM DOWN. If you don't have your notebook, any scrap of paper will do, you can always add it to your book when you get home. Just don't let yourself forget that line, 'cause you'll never think of it later!
I know my methods are a little different but I don't care, they work for me. The idea is to figure out what works for you, and if you keep trying different things, you'll eventually find what works for you.

I think this is great advice. Also, carry a dictaphone like Chili suggested. Sometimes when I'm stuck, I'll phone home and hum melodies or instrument lines into the answering machine !

 

[jeffchastain]

Great advice from everyone. I was really just wondering how everyone else dealt with, I'll call it "not being able to write anything decent", since evidentally "writer's block" is a term set aside for professionals only.

Also, I'm fairly positive that if you write songs, and do it often as a serious hobby, that's enough to call yourself a song writer. Pretty sure noone cares if someone decides to do that.

But anyway, good stuff guys. Appreciate the advice.

 

[Xdrummer]

I think writers block is a misunderstood term.
First you have to be a writer and by that I mean someone who is a paid professional.
Just because you wrote a song and recorded it at home and put it on SoundClick does not make you a song writer.

I don't know if I can completely agree with this limited definition of "song writer" - or for that matter the exclusive use of the term "writer's block" I have been published, had songs/music placed in movies, a prime time televison show, stage plays, artist recordings, radio jingles, industrial training videos, and music on hold. I've received payment from various clients and receive a check from BMI every year..................however, my main income is from a "day job".......so Technically, I'm not a "professional"....even though I've written about 300 songs and/or music compositions.

I don't have a "book" and rarely use a dictation device to quickly capture ideas......yet I write songs..........am I not a "song writer" and if I find periods where I can't think of ideas....can I not consider that "writer's block"?

You do not have to be a "professional" writer to suffer from writer's block. Any creative person from time to time suffers from a lack of motivation or lack of inspiration or a lack of creativity. If someone who writes songs chooses to use the phrase "writer's block" - even if that person is a hobbiest - it is a logical and I would suggest reasonable use of the term. There are many very talented musicians, writer's, painters, etc. - who often have to hold down a "real" job - and using a limiting judgement that since they do not
get paid as professionals......they do not qualify as "artists"...well, that seems an insult to thousands of talented, creative people.

Semantics aside - There is no right or wrong way to conduct oneself as a "song writer" Using a small tape recorder can be a very functional way.....but some of the greatest songs ever written were written before recording equipment was even invented. Keeping a book of lyrics, etc. is certainly an organized way to pursue the craft......but some of the greatestest songs ever written were likely writen without the benefit of a "book".

Using whatever tools are available is logical and using whatever method works best for a given person is reasonable - but to place limitations of the terms song writer or writer's block - or to suggest that the lack of a "book" renderes someone as less than a song writer .....semms neither logical or reasonable.

To develop a skill (any skill) requires doing....doing often. At first the doing will be less than effective.....but keep doing and the skill becomes more consistant.....and the times of artistic blockage becomes less frequent.