“In my early 20’s I used to sit down and force myself to write a song a day just to write something. They’re horrible, but they’re songs. Somewhere in your unconscious it’s going in that you’ve finished something.”
—Janis Ian
Some writers have the ambition and the talent to write hit songs, but they lack the determination and self-discipline to make it happen. It is important to challenge yourself to write something every day, even when you don’t feel like it.
So don’t keep making excuses for yourself, start writing. Otherwise your potential hit songs will never get written.
Establishing a consistent writing habit—making it part of your daily routine—will boost your creativity and productivity, and lead to better songs.
If you want to earn your living as a writer, it’s important to remember that song- writing is a business—not a hobby. The professional songwriters you will be competing with write every day, turning out at least 100 new songs a year. So you need to do the same.
As top country songwriter Brett James explains: “I tell young songwriters that they should write 100 songs per year, then get 30 of these songs put on hold, then get 10 cuts per year to hopefully get one hit a year.”
Think of it as running your own store. If you only open your doors when you feel like it, your shop isn’t going to sell much. You need to be open for business every day.
“I go into my office every day and work,” says Nick Cave. “Whether I feel like it or not is irrelevant.”
PJ Harvey takes a similar view: “If you want to be good at anything, you have to work hard at it. It doesn’t just fall from the sky. I work every day at trying to improve my writing, and I really enjoy it.”
It is also important to identify the most creative time of day for you. For example, some people like to write something as soon as they wake up in the morning, when their mind is full of ideas. Are you an early bird? Or an afternoon person? Or a night owl?
Make your most fruitful hours your ‘writing time’, and get into the habit of sitting down and writing something at the same time every day (even if it’s just for half an hour). If you can find this prime time and get writing, you’ll be a lot more productive. You’ll be amazed how the quality and volume of your songs will improve as a result.
“Music breeds its own inspiration”, Burt Bacharach once remarked. “You can only do it by doing it. You may not feel like it, but you push yourself.”
# # # #