What I’ve Learnt From Doing The 50/90 Challenge

Let me tell you, I failed miserably in the 50/90 challenge.

I can only sit here and contemplate why I’ve only posted five songs on the 50/90 website.

I know that the world isn’t going to end because of this so, instead of beating myself up over it (which I tend to do in these situations) I’m going to try and put a positive spin on it and work out what I’ve learnt about myself through this 50/90 experience.

You see, when I started the challenge I was hopeful and confident that I’d be able to do it. I had a lot of encouragement from friends and Songwriting Zen readers (thanks guys).

I had lots of songwriting ideas floating around my head, on MP3 and paper and I was positive I’d be able to make the time necessary to write, record and post the songs on the 50/90 website.

So what happened?

I started the 50/90 challenge with all guns blazing, then I got a couple of reviews that were constructive but not overly positive. This was all the evidence my inner critic needed to start undermining me.

There were many, many times where I tried to marry a musical and lyrical idea together only to have a little voice inside my head say things like.

This is absolute crap
You’re not going to make it
You’re a fraud
Call yourself a songwriter?
You can’t write hooks
This sounds like another song
Give up now

I got scared. I was scared of writing bad songs. I got scared of what other people thought of my songs. I got scared of the possible feedback.

I lost the battle with my inner critic. I gave up.

There is a real difference between challenging yourself and being competitive with others. In hindsight I should’ve seen the 50/90 challenge as just that, a challenge. It’s not a contest to see who gets to the goal first.

So what have I learnt about myself through taking part in the 50/90 challenge?

1. See the 50/90 challenge for what it is, an outlet to write songs
2. Learn to take contructive feedback and/or critisism on the chin
3. Use all experiences as a learning experience
4. Don’t do anything that I don’t feel comfortable in doing
5. Don’t make promises to myself and others that I can’t keep

Lessons well learnt I reckon. What was your experience doing the 50/90 challenge?

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, lyric writing, lyrics, songwriting zen, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting blog, songwriting resource, corey stewart

Tags: 50/90, Corey Stewart, Creativity, lyrics, music, song, Songwriter, Songwriting, songwriting blog, songwriting tip, Songwriting Zen, writing, zen

Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 50/90 Challenge

6 Comments to What I’ve Learnt From Doing The 50/90 Challenge

Jannie says:

October 3, 2008 at 2:35 pm

I so did not do (won’t be doing,) the challenge, but maybe # 91′s the charm? Maybe that’s the whole exercise, really.

To force or not to force a song, that is always my question. Once it worked for me in a songwriters circle, to write a 2-chord song. But mostly to force writing leaves me feeling bad.

And feeling bad as a songwriter seems to go right along with the job. Feeling bad is transient in this, tho.

Always realize that and the joy will come bubbling back – and that’s the time to go with what comes out of you! Or if not joy, then a nice gloomy song that you like singing.

Jannie
(I have comments on my blog now so come on down to Fusnter-land sometime!)

Stephen @ Songwritten.Blogspot.Com says:

October 7, 2008 at 1:14 am

Interesting challenge. Jannie, I don’t think there is a thing wrong with forcing songwriting. If we wait till it comes, it may never come.

Finding Forrester with Sean Connery gave a perfect example of “forcing” a piece. William Forrester, a reclusive author, sits Jamal Wallace, a young writer, at a typewriter. Forrester gives him a paragraph of his own (Forrester’s) work and tells him to use it as inspiration. This paragraph will, he says, be Wallace’s first paragraph. Even if Wallace doesn’t “feel” like writing, this piece will help him get into the groove. And Wallace writes a beautiful piece. Great movie. Give it a watch.

I think the idea is that we as writers and songwriters can’t just let inspiration come: we have to make it come. We have to search it out, and if that means writing 50 songs in 90 days, then it’s worth it. We’re more likely to find inspiration writing songs than watching television or browsing weblogs (though both are things we ought to do, as some great inspiration may come from these).

I guess we just can’t be afraid of writing bad songs. We learn from our mistakes, we really do. If we write one brilliant song for every ten terrible ones, that’s five brilliant songs. And that is success. Thanks for posting this 50/90 challenge, I think I’m going to give it a shot, yes?

- Stephen
http://songwritten.blogspot.com

Pigfarmer Jr says:

October 7, 2008 at 1:42 am

Umm, if you had only posted the one song “All I wanna Do is Fall in Love” you could claim success. That song is killer. Top notch. Easily made my top 5 of 50/90 2008. Great lyric, awesome guitar playing, great vocal. No reason not to be proud of that.

Tom St. Louis says:

October 22, 2008 at 4:39 am

Hey Corie:

I appreciate your honesty. If you can
reveal your own thoughts so lucidly
and so easily…it makes me want to
hear more of your songs.

It seems there is an eternal dance
between inspiration and perspiration.
Priming the pump is good stuff.

Walking around thinking about
something else works for me.

Intermittent focus also works.

I have enjoyed writing on command,
but for me the best songs are the
ones that I did not write so much
as “catch”.

Mr. Mozart’s pop would not let
him go to bed unless he wrote a
song that day. And Irving Berlin
said that he felt that he would
die if he could not finish a song
the day he started it.

My old publisher used to say that
if I was his son he’d lock me in a
room and not let me out until
I wrote ten more songs like the
ones he liked.

For me, the very idea of songwriting
as an activity offends something deep
inside of me. I think of Stephen Foster
and I don’t believe that he was trying
to tease out a melody everyday if there
was nothing there.

So, while I admire the industriousness
of all the songwriters who are dividing
their mojo into 90 different splatters
of mercury, I think you are better off
focusing in a different way.

And the question I have to ask is, “How
many songs have you written with
no instrument in your hand?” When
inspiration comes, can you convert it
cleanly? That, for me, is the more
important discipline in songwriting.

Tom St. Louis

Matt says:

October 28, 2008 at 1:03 pm

I’ve been grappling with this lately, but I don’t think forcing things is the answer. When I’m out of ideas, I just play, and the ideas eventually come. When I force something, it tends to insert me into a process that I generally like to stay out of the way of.

Ideally I will just let the song define itself, rather than trying to actually write it. Personally, I find that the more writing I do, the less worthwhile the song turns out. That may well be a reflection on me, but I’m okay with that.

Accordingly, I would probably never attempt something like the 50/90 challenge, but without thinking about it I was able to write six or so songs over the course of it, songs that I’m quite happy with, and I also got to learn several covers, perform at various open mics, play drums with friends, and generally just keep myself in a positive musical head space, things that would have been less likely possible in an, “Only 44 more songs to go,” mentality.

Forcing things in general places an arbitrary time constraint on the creative process in that one is basically saying, “This isn’t coming together quickly enough for my taste.” If there is a profit motive involved, that may be a factor as well. The more self-imposed pressure to produce, the more distracted one may become from the inspired aspects of songwriting which are often totally beyond our ability to control.

Ultimately, I find that songwriting is a lot like love…the more you look, the less you find, and when you finally throw your hands up and stop looking for it, it just falls into your lap.

Tom Slatter says:

October 30, 2008 at 8:24 pm

I agree with Stephen, 50/90 isn’t about forcing a song so much as getting inspiration flowing. It gives you new ways of approaching the craft, it gives you a support group, and most importantly it gives you a deadline!

Having said that, I only managed to get half way this time around. I’m determined to get to 50 next year.

Tom