Songwriting Advice

Some Final Thoughts For 2008

I wanted to give you a final thought before I sign off for the year about writing and writers block. It comes from a post on one of the songwriting blogs I subscribe to and read regularly called “The Shy Singer/Songwriter” by Canadian songwriter Vikki Flawith.

It’s a great blog, check it out

She quotes author Philip Pullman’s response to the question “What do you do about writers block?”

“I don’t believe in it. All writing is difficult. The most you can hope for is a day when it goes reasonably easily. Plumbers don’t get plumber’s block, and doctors don’t get doctor’s block; why should writers be the only profession that gives a special name to the difficulty of working, and then expects sympathy for it?”

I agree. This is a great example of how pearls of wisdom from an author can still be relevent to a songwriter. Writing is writing regardless of the end result whether it be a short story, a song, a novel or a technical paper.

Some other noteworthy quotes from Philip Pullman:

On where ideas come from

“… I can’t believe that everyone isn’t having ideas all the time. I think
they are, actually, and they just don’t recognise them as potential
stories. Because the important thing is not just having the idea; it’s
writing the book. That’s the difficult thing, the thing that takes the
time and the energy and the discipline. The initial idea is much less
important, actually, than what you do with it.”

His advice to anyone who wants to write

“Don’t listen to any advice, that’s what I’d say. Write only what you
want to write. Please yourself. YOU are the genius, they’re not.
Especially don’t listen to people (such as publishers) who think that
you need to write what readers say they want. Readers don’t always know
what they want… “

On inspiration and the process of writing

“… if you’re going to write anything that will last – you have to realise
that a lot of the time, you’re going to be writing without inspiration.
The trick is to write just as well without it as with… “

The last word I’ll leave for Vikki Flawith herself

“IMO the antidote to writer’s block is… to write.”

Amen to that.

To everyone who have read these pages and contributed in some way either by commenting, giving feedback or just by being yourselves, I thank you and wish you all a very Merry Xmas and a wonderful 2009.

I’ll see you next year.

Until then, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

PS: Speaking about writers block, click on the link to download my FREE eReport “11 Ways To Eliminate (Song) Writers Block FOREVER!”

Keywords: vikki flawith, songwriting, songwriter, writing, songwriting zen, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting blog, songwriting resource, corey stewart

Tags: Corey Stewart, lyrics, music, song, Songwriter, Songwriting, songwriting blog, songwriting tip, writing, zen

Friday, December 19th, 2008 Songwriting Advice, Songwriting Zen 3 Comments

Create Your Own Comprehensive Songwriting Resource

Here is another wonderful article from Orlando of www.songwriteradvisor.com fame called “Great Songwriting Resources Are Yours For the Taking.”

It’s about how you can best use the free songwriting information found online to create your own comprehensive songwriting resource.

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Great Songwriting Resources Are Yours For The Taking
By Orlando Gutierrez

If you’re looking for free songwriting resources you don’t have to look much further than your favorite search engine search box!

The Internet is chock full of juicy, free songwriting tips because songwriting webmasters have painstakingly put together many excellent websites for beginner to advanced songwriters.

If you’re a beginning songwriter and you’re not sure where to start, there’s a ton of useful information on the web if you type the keyword “beginner songwriting” into a search box.

For example, if you’re an intermediate or advanced songwriter, if you enter “songwriting tips” you’ll instantly have access to many quality, free songwriting resources!

The majority of songwriting websites on the internet have useful, instructional material, and you can assemble your own personal “how to write songs manual,” and learn quite a bit during the process as you weed through the many articles.

To assemble your very own songwriting guide all you need is a large binder, some page dividers, and a hole puncher. Then start researching the web on your own using the following topics as your starting guide:

1. Song Verse Development (what is a song verse, how to develop a verse, etc.)

2. Pre-chorus Tips (what is a pre-chorus, how to develop a pre-chorus, etc.)

3. Chorus Development (what is a chorus, how to develop a strong hook, etc.)

4. Second Verse tips (ideas for starting a 2nd verse, etc.)

5. How to Write a Bridge (what is a bridge, how to write a bridge, etc.)

6. Song Forms (how to choose, etc.)

7. Song Title (how to create, etc.)

8. Rhyming Tips and Techniques (how to rhyme effectively, etc.)

9. How to Create a Melody (what constitutes a great melody, etc.)

This is just the tip of the iceberg and definitely enough to get you started, but you get the idea!

You can either print out web pages for your personal songwriting resources or assemble them using Microsoft Word or a similar program.

Personally, when I was learning songwriting years ago I preferred using a thick binder with dividers separating the many songwriting topics I was learning about. The trick is stay organized with your songwriting tips entries from the various free songwriting websites on the net by cataloging them efficiently and accurately.

So, for this songwriting resource, the only thing you need to have is a decent hole-puncher and a binder to make yourself the ultimate songwriting guide!

By completing this project a few years ago, I was able to improve my songwriting technique drastically, and I built myself a
strong, solid basic songwriting foundation from which to build on.

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About The Author

Did you know anyone who listens to music can learn how to write quality songs because music is a hearing art form? All you have to know are the basics of songwriting. If you want to see how easy it is for free….click here!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Orlando_Gutierrez

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I’m personally giving this a try. How about you? Let me know how you go.

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

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

Tags: Corey Stewart, lyrics, music, song, Songwriter, Songwriting, songwriting blog, songwriting tip, writing, zen