Estimated reading time 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Have you ever looked at a blank sheet of paper and couldn’t think of a single lyric idea? Try the following tips for overcoming writer’s block in songwriting.
In 1988, I had my first, and worst, case of writer’s block. When I wrote a lyric, it became a huge fight to get the plot fleshed out. Then, I started devising strategies to defeat my writer’s block. This meant I did research before I started writing the lyrics.
If you can see the images in your mind’s eye and describe what you see, your lyric writing will be more vivid. So, what do you do when the images won’t come? Simple, borrow someone else’s image.
This article uses literary terms. For definitions, see the Glossary at the end of the post.
Overcoming Writer’s Block in Songwriting: Use Photos and Paintings to Inspire You
Check out this idea for overcoming writer’s block in your songwriting. If you’re lyric has a lot of mountains in the background, pick up a book that has these images in them.
Next, look at the pictures. If a photo or painting doesn’t stir anything in you, fine, just go to the next one. If a picture does stir an idea, write a quick description.
At this point, don’t start writing the lyrics. Just collect the ideas and images that can be crafted into a lyric at a later point. I’d rather start with too many ideas, than not have enough to get me to the end of the song.
An Example of Overcoming Writer’s Block in Songwriting
I have this example of how to overcome writer’s block in your songwriting.
Years ago, a friend (who I used to write SF with) and I browsed in a used bookstore on a Saturday afternoon. He had majored in geology and loved books on exotic locations. He found one with landscape shots from varying extreme environs (the Arctic, the Amazon, etc.).
On the drive back, I pointed to one of the pictures in his book.
“Describe what you see,” I said.
“A cliff made of black, basaltic rock, and a steep drop to the rocky shore.”
“What do you hear?”
“My boots on the rocks.”
“Okay, I hear the waves rushing in and out below me,” I said. “What do you feel?”
“The wind in my face and the solid cliff below me.”
“Put motion into the scene.”
“The clumps of grass to the left sway in the breeze. The surf beats against the distant shore.”
This gives you the gist.
A Discussion of Overcoming Writer’s Block in Songwriting
There are many ways to go with this exercise for overcoming writer’s block in your songwriting. We could’ve also talked about the smell/taste of the salty sea air and how cold the breeze felt.
Alternately, we might have created a character to climb around the rocks. That way we’d have been able to describe his feeling of weight as he hangs from a cliff. Or we could have written of his inner ear sense of motion if we’d decided to make him fall.
By making a character, we can start asking questions like: Is he the adventuring geologist Oklahoma Smith? Or possibly a pirate looking for buried treasure?
As you look at one static picture, suddenly all sorts of prospects for scene, plot, and character suggest themselves. When I look at a photo, I try to pull out the different senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. You can also try to describe the feeling of weight and the feeling of motion. You won’t get all of these from every picture, but you should try.
One note of caution, when using description, try to let it unfold with the action of the plot. (Yes, even tiny songs can have plots!) Otherwise, your listeners can become bored from all the static images.
As an example:
The brown, leather address book sat on the desktop.
Versus:
She felt flustered and tried to hide it by casting down her eyes to the desktop next to her. She picked up the brown, leather address book to give her hands something to do.
Overcoming Writer’s Block in Songwriting: Get the Ideas Going
The picture you look at doesn’t need to be limited to landscapes. You could look at a painting of a person, and it could be the jumping off place for a character. Or you could look at a photo of a group of people and that could suggest a scene.
However, don’t restrict yourself to just what the picture holds. Instead, it might be the starting place that leads you in a whole new direction. The point: Get the ideas going. Once you get the ideas going, they have a way of multiplying.
At this point, don’t censor yourself. Editing at this stage chokes the creative flow. Rather, get the ideas on paper and sort them out later. Once the ideas get going, you have overcome the writer’s block in your songwriting.
Conclusion
Prewriting is the key to overcoming writer’s block in your songwriting. If you have a lot of ideas to begin with, crafting your lyrics becomes an infinitely easier job. Much of the process of lyric writing happens before you ever rhyme one word.
Related Posts:
- Ten Ways to Spice Up Your Melodies with Melodic Variation
- Songwriting – Let Her Scream
- How to Jumpstart the Creativity in Your Songwriting
- 17 Songwriting Ideas to Get You Unstuck
- How Do I Get the Music and Lyrics to Match Together in My Songwriting?
© 2021 Geoffrey Keith
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