I want to make my writing better, but HOW???

Some people are born with the gift of crafty words, others tell it like it is while some others just throw phrases together that don't make sense. How many times have you heard a song that was popular, looked at the words and said "what?!" LOL! I say just do what you do brother and stick with it. You'll have good days and bad days....and some poetic days.

Ever hear a really great musician? Sometimes this takes loads and loads of practice to achieve, other times, an individual is gifted and has a head start on everyone else. In all my years of being a musician, I have only seen one case where an individual just "didn't have it" that turned the tides.
 
I knew a guy that wanted to play guitar so bad...but his brain and mechanics in his hands just weren't all that. Guys like this can practice until they are blue in the face....they still fall short. This guy was terrible. Seriously. So terrible it pains me to say that about another human being who has tried so hard and given his life to guitar. I remember being a kid going to an arcade every day when I was 14.

This dude was the guy that worked behind the counter. When he wasn't giving out tokens and doing college homework, he played his guitar...and most of it, badly played. I was 2 years into being a rock guitarist myself and already had more capability than this guy who had been at it for about 5-6 years. Weak fingers, poor intonation from a lack of pressure with his fingers, bad mechanics, bad timing, poorly executed transitions....he tried hard, but just didn't have it.

One day, when I was 18, I went to that arcade and he was still working there. I caught up with the guy since I hadn't seen him in years, grabbed some tokens and started playing some games. As I played....this incredible classical guitar music smacked me in the face like it was wrapped in bricks. I wasn't thinking anything of it, figuring it was probably a tape or something. When I looked up, it was this dude!

He was absolutely flawless, pinpoint accuracy and perfection. Perfect finger tonation, perfect execution, speed and dexterity, rhythm and lead at the same time....finger picking, tapping....I just totally sat there letting my men die in Galaga watching him from a few feet away.

Never in my life have I heard a person with such a terrible start turn into something like this. When someone doesn't have it, they stay "not having it". They may improve here and there, but not like this lunatic did. I went up and watched closer with my jaw on the floor and had to ask what the he did to get like that. I told him that I thought he was pretty bad through the years but always admired his efforts. He told me I wasn't alone and that the more people told him "you just don't have it" the more he worked at it.

Today he teaches as a music conservatory, plays shows doing classical guitar music and is one of the most respected and well decorated classical guitar hero's in NJ and PA. He's also since become a professor and teaches classes at Rowan University in NJ. Talk about a success story!? :)

So, in closing, anything can be achieved if you have the right determination and inspiration. However, the first thing you have to do is accept yourself, get to really know yourself and see where you may be able to make changes. Did you ever notice that poets usually are not good with people or communication? They are either very stand-offish or very quiet and to themselves. Take a guy like me. I like to think I'm a very good communicator and have no problems being a people person. Most poets...are either too guarded or too "out there". A guy like me doesn't fit the bill as a poet, profile wise. LOL! I'm crafty and quick to speak,, but there are never any poetic words in my vocabulary or my songs. I think to get all that stuff right, you have to be stoned or something so you're no longer thinking like you. LOL! Poets are in a class by themselves....sort of like keyboard players. Ever notice most of them are way out there?

Then again, just like surrounding yourself with different styles of music...or one style just to grab some elements from it, being around poetry can have the same effect on you. We're products of our environment in my opinion. Hang around people that cuss like sailors, you MAY end up cussing too. Hang around with people smoking dope all the time, there IS a chance that you fall in with them. Listen to rap, you MAY start rapping. Listen to poetry, read it, live it, you MAY just become a poet. :)

In the meantime, go grab a copy of Master Writer software and allow it to help you finish your songs. It is by far the most incredible tool ever made for lyricists in need of a little push....or a big push....like me. :) Without it, I sincerely feel I'd be lost today as I rely on it for everything. What used to take me weeks and months to do lyrically, now takes a few days or maybe a few weeks. Most times that is not because I'm stuck for ideas....it is because I have so many to choose from which in turn send me into other directions. Start writing a song, get inspired to write ANOTHER so you're working on the main one while logging ideas for the other. LOL! At any rate, good luck and I hope some of this helps.

-Danny

Keep your antennas out all the time. Whenever a nice phrase pops in your mind, write it down. Carry small memo pad with you for that purpose.

Sit down and write down whatever comes  to your mind. Meaningless mindflow. A single phrase in there may give you a new approach to a lyric you're working on.

Read poetry or novels with a fresh approach to language.

Kalle Rantaaho


Keep your antennas out all the time. Whenever a nice phrase pops in your mind, write it down. Carry small memo pad with you for that purpose.

Sit down and write down whatever comes  to your mind. Meaningless mindflow. A single phrase in there may give you a new approach to a lyric you're working on.

Read poetry or novels with a fresh approach to language.

This! I have notebooks full of little phrases and ideas, and have also started using the "voice notes" app on my smartphone for recording ideas or phrases I've heard. An example of how they can be used is a couple of years ago while driving and listening to the radio, I heard someone use the phrase "Our choices are between one and none". It caught my ear, so I recorded into a little pocket recorder I had with me. About a month later I was noodling on my acoustic guitar and found a chord progression I liked and recorded  a quick sketch. Then I went back to my recorder and listened to the ideas. The "choices" phrase fit perfectly in meter with the guitar track I had recorded. Off and running after that.


You've got to keep your ears open. I get ideas from books, magazines, radio, overheard conversations, etc. They are everywhere, but if we don't listen for them and record them in some manner, they just go off into the ether.


Randy

Here's my take and what I try to do and do. 

 Find a co-writer to work with who does lyric better than you.  Always try to "write up" as they say in Nashville..... that means write with someone better than you.  That is how you learn. 
Many of my more recent tunes have been collabs. I seek out and write with folks who can do the lyric part. I don't consider myself to be a slouch when it comes to writing lyrics but I will say one thing.... having someone else to bounce lyrics back and forth is a really great way to perfect the lyrics. What I think is good, Pat will take and re-write and it becomes so much better....and vice versa. 

For example... I don't keep track anymore.... but Come & Go is a co-write with one of my favorite writers.... Pat Bishop. We bounced the lyrics and music back and forth at least 6 to 8 times, maybe more,  before we got it to where it was at. Then, after that, it was bounced off some Nashville professional writers several times (for advice only... not songwriting contribution) several more times. more edits and changes were made by me and Pat.... 

One song we worked on was bounced over 20 times. 

I also have a songwriter's program called MasterWriter2. It's simply a handy place to keep all my musical ideas and it has built in rhyming dictionary and several other writing tools. This kind of stuff is also available at some online sites for free. The tools anyway...  I use it when I need to rhyme something. I can think of maybe half a dozen rhymes..... but MW2 gives me sometimes as many as 40 PAGES of words that rhyme...and phrases that rhyme..... and close rhymes, and imperfect rhymes.... this has been a great resource to getting ideas. Often, a simple word on the list will cause a whole new train of thought and a new totally rocking lyric line will result. 

Next....if you want to surf, you hang out with surfers, if you want to learn to fly an airplane, you hang out with pilots,  if you want to be a writer, you gotta hang out with others of like mind, craft and skills. You tend to become like the people you associate with. I believe writing is an acquired skill that is perfected by practice, study, and writing...and getting feedback and help from others who are better than you. Only then do you get the correct advice. The internet makes this easy. 

There are a number of songwriter specific web sites. I frequent 2 of them... besides here. At Cake... while you can get some writing critiques, mostly here, the focus is on the recording aspect. Software, gear and the process..... 

At Taxi... (free forums) there are lots of people who are all about the writing aspects of the songs.... from the music to the lyrics.... go there and join and meet people... post examples and ask for advice. There are some really good writers over there. Find them and connect.

At Nashville Songwriters Assn..... they are ALL about the song.... musically and lyrically. Unfortunately, it is a member only site. ($150/yr if I remember correctly)  However, the video library alone has dozens upon dozens of 1 hour seminars view-able by members on every aspect of writing songs. Many of them are about lyric writing. AND... they are conducted by people who have written the lyrics to classic songs that stand the test of time.  Those folks have perfected their craft. The forum there is also members only but they have collab and lyric review and as a member you get to send you music/song/lyrics to professional writers for their opinion and advice.  Plus.... nowhere else that I know of has one on one mentoring sessions as part of it's membership that lets you speak directly with professional writers about your music.... That is priceless to new and experienced writers... to be able to discuss in detail the finer aspects of a specific lyric or a complete song with someone who has been there and done it at the professional level. 

A google search will turn up more songwriter sites.... there are many. 

Just my 2 cents

I agree Dean, Springsteen is the master of the seemingly 'throwaway' lyric. I remember this verse from 'Nothing Man' stopping me in my tracks, so to speak.

''You can call me Joe
Buy me a drink and shake my hand
You want courage
I'll show you courage you can understand
Pearl and silver
Restin' on my night table
It's just me Lord, I pray that I'm able''


In the context of the song, that's beautifully simple, and quite devastating.

Danny: You're writing above had me on the edge of my seat! I kept thinking your were going to say that the classical guitar virtuoso turned out to be a different guy! LOL The point was really cool.

Eduard: Thanks! This might help get many of us rolling a bit. 

Herb: Great point about hanging out with like-focused people.

Great responses by all!

In country music, ( and rock.... Seeger & Springsteen are story tellers among so many others)  many times a story gets told.... either straight up tell the story or use the chorus to tie 3 different seemingly unrelated stories together with a common thread always coming back to the chorus for that common thread. 

It helps to use an old technique you learned back in school...   OUTLINE the ideas. 

Complete an outline of the story or song idea.... movie producers use story boards, and we can use a simple outline on a sheet of paper. It helps to keep you focused on what you want to write about. 

sample: 

V1 me and my brother growing up as kids, granny's tree and cooking , sundays after church

v2. a few years later... first love, swimming holes, dirt roads, having fun as kids growing up

CH:  love of family is the most important thing to us all... worth fighting for.

V3: 10 years later: my own family, wife, kids, same house, new memories being made

BR:  not to take anything for  granted.... no one knows when it all ends suddenly

return to ch to end the song....



So that is a brief outline that could be used to write this:  http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=7870761

just another suggestion to help write songs.

In 2014 (2013 is too busy, but then again so will be 2014, but oh well!) I plan to write a new song every week. No mater what. Even if it sucks. Every week, new song. I expect my writing ability to grow a lot in that time. I currently suck at lyrics. But I figure practise makes perfect and what better way to practise than to set a nice, achievable goal?! You could try this!

I thought it might even be cool to record each on just simply on the acoustic and singing and post it up on my Facebook fan page. The ones than get the most likes I'll make a proper album out of. Surely I'll find a good 12 gems out of 52 attempts!

I like your story about Jeffry Steele. This technique is popping up in many fields. I have seen a photographer who did the photo a day thing too to improve her skills. Such good motivation.

Would be nice to have time to do the 5 days a week thing but I guess only full-time people in the industry can really manage that one :D Those skills must improve so much though at that high rate!

How did you find you were after your 2 week goal? Do you find good songs come to you easier now? I'd love to hear a little more about your experience.

I write songs. I would be willing to help you in anyway I can. Experience seems to be one of the best songwriting tools you'll ever encounter. If you have a phone with a voice/video recorder, you can begin by humming a few lyrics/tunes into it and saving for later use/edit. Also, you can jot down ideas as your imagination thrives, and save these as well. See if your friends or relatives have stories that they don't mind you turning into a song. You are limitless in your songwriting techniques. But, if you need any help, PM me.

I use my iPod to record myself singing and occasionally, playing the tunes I hear. I like these techniques, and a strange one came to mind; use the outline to write a much more detailed NON-RHYMING outline that follows the short outline, then change each like to where it fits rythmically or harmonically. Or it rhymes.

There are a lot of great tips and techniques here.  I would add that it can be very helpful to try something new.

Many times we fall into a rut writing the same type of lyrics with the same song structure, rhyming schemes, thematic ideas, etc.  Sometimes, doing something different, even if you decide not to pursue it later, can be break down some walls.  Feel like your lyrics are too literal?  Try writing some poetic free verse, focusing on imagery instead of story.  Limited vocabulary?  Read more from authors/lyricists you enjoy and examine their word choices.  Bored with predictable rhyming schemes?  Put the music aside and just write lyrics without considering the flow of the music. 

I've talked to lyricists who struggled with trying to write complex concepts and themes.  When we feel passionately about an idea or a conviction, it can be very difficult to express it without sounding preachy or using cliches.  I suggested trying to express only one idea or concept per song.  Don't give me an opus that attempts to explain all of time and space in a single song.  Just give me one nugget of truth for this song.  You can give me more in the next one.  One of the traps lyricists fall into is trying to be Profound.  You know...it's when you go so overboard in trying to be Deep and Meaningful in your lyrics that you come off as Stupid and Lame instead?  Some of the most meaningful lyrics of the last few decades have been simple statements.

One of the harder pieces of advice is this.  Try reading the lyrics critically.  You know how people sometimes mean different things when they ask what you think?  Some want you to find all of the things you can praise about their work.  Some want you to find anything you can criticize.  If you can't bear to hear the negative, then you aren't ready.  If you seek out good criticism, you're ready to refine your lyrics and improve as a writer.  It's not as easy as it sounds.

As writers, we go through stages where we need encouragement to try to reach our potential.  We also go through stages where we need someone to rip out the garbage before we can actually get there.

Listen to a lot of songwriters and absorb the different styles and techniques. You words don't have to be complex or fancy - just honest. There's a lot of power in simplicity too. Over, just keep doing it. The time you put into it will make all the difference.

I have an insane dream life. If I wrote songs about my dreams, people would run away.

The dream is only one way for the subconscious mind to communicate an idea to you. There are other ways like just knowing what to do the next day. But if the dream is vivid and you are hearing say something musical in there and more than once then maybe I would look at that as an idea that is being put forward that way. 

The dream maybe something else and the idea may come to you in a different way.