Well, I might not be as "back in business" as I thought. I have been relying on my nook color for updates. Regular internet access is not much of a problem, but this device freezes up a lot. On top of that work takes up a lot of time as well.
Inspiration, however, has not been lacking. I've come up with some great ideas in the past few days. Meeting my goal of adding five new songs to my songbook for the month is coming along pretty well. Completing Run to You is going to be a challenge though. I have the chorus and two versions of the first verse. Once I decide which version I want to use I'll be able to finish the rest of the song. This is what I have for the chorus.
I run to you when I get hurt
And you let me cry on your shoulder
I curse your name when you turn away
And make me stand on my own
I have no choice but to stand on my own
I have no choice but to stand on my own
~Eliza
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Thursday, September 6, 2012
The Desperation Mode of Lyric Writing
Oh yes, lyric writers get blocked, too! Then comes the desperation mode. You've been stuck. You've been uninspired. You haven't written anything in several days or more and you're dying to get out of your dry spell. And in your desperation you pick up a pen and just start writing, with or without the inspiration that so often drives you. The next day you look at what you wrote and laugh so hard you fall to the floor.
I have definitely been there. And I've had plenty of those"I wrote THAT? And I thought it was GOOD?" moments. Even if no one sees it it still feels embarrassing. Those moments are good lessons in humility.
The question is how to get past that desperation and get back your full writing potential and ability. There are a few methods you could try that might help.
Free Writing
Don't let desperation control your writing! Free writing forces you to do what you can with your talent whether you feel inspired or not and may end up inspiring you in way that helps you overcome your dry spell. If you force yourself to free write for a good amount of time you'll probably come up with something you can use, even if it's only a line or two. If you were completely stuck on your writing before, then it's a move forward. And if you were just feeling uninspired something you wrote while you were free writing may end up giving you some fresh ideas. It's natural to occasionally feel uninspired or blocked, but allowing the mentality of "I don't know what to write anymore" sink in is the worst thing you can do. Reminding yourself that you don't knoe what to write sometimes is no way to push yourself back into your normal writing routines.
Writing Prompts
There are plenty of resources that provide writing prompts. If you're having trouble coming up with new ideas in your head, let these help you. Some online resourcrs for this are www.writingprompts.com and www.writersdigest.com. You can also find many idea and prompt books for writers in bookstores and online stores that sell books. While many prompts that are for writing in general are geared towards writing stories, most of these can still be helpful in generating ideas for lyrics.
Getting Back to the Basics
When was the last time you really thought about why you love writing and what motivates you to do it? Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to make our lyrics poetic or witty that we forget some of the basics about lyric writing. Remind yourself why you bother with it to begin with and the people that inspired you to have a deeper interest in songwriting. Give yourself a fresher perspective and allow yourself to enjoy writing lyrics again instead of stressing over it.
~Eliza
I have definitely been there. And I've had plenty of those"I wrote THAT? And I thought it was GOOD?" moments. Even if no one sees it it still feels embarrassing. Those moments are good lessons in humility.
The question is how to get past that desperation and get back your full writing potential and ability. There are a few methods you could try that might help.
Free Writing
Don't let desperation control your writing! Free writing forces you to do what you can with your talent whether you feel inspired or not and may end up inspiring you in way that helps you overcome your dry spell. If you force yourself to free write for a good amount of time you'll probably come up with something you can use, even if it's only a line or two. If you were completely stuck on your writing before, then it's a move forward. And if you were just feeling uninspired something you wrote while you were free writing may end up giving you some fresh ideas. It's natural to occasionally feel uninspired or blocked, but allowing the mentality of "I don't know what to write anymore" sink in is the worst thing you can do. Reminding yourself that you don't knoe what to write sometimes is no way to push yourself back into your normal writing routines.
Writing Prompts
There are plenty of resources that provide writing prompts. If you're having trouble coming up with new ideas in your head, let these help you. Some online resourcrs for this are www.writingprompts.com and www.writersdigest.com. You can also find many idea and prompt books for writers in bookstores and online stores that sell books. While many prompts that are for writing in general are geared towards writing stories, most of these can still be helpful in generating ideas for lyrics.
Getting Back to the Basics
When was the last time you really thought about why you love writing and what motivates you to do it? Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to make our lyrics poetic or witty that we forget some of the basics about lyric writing. Remind yourself why you bother with it to begin with and the people that inspired you to have a deeper interest in songwriting. Give yourself a fresher perspective and allow yourself to enjoy writing lyrics again instead of stressing over it.
~Eliza
Goals for September 2012
I like to keep my goals pretty simple. My goals for September are to...
-finish " Run to You"
-add five complete new songs to my songbook (completing old fragments does not count towards this goal)
Short, simple, and to the point. Just the way I like it!
~Eliza
-finish " Run to You"
-add five complete new songs to my songbook (completing old fragments does not count towards this goal)
Short, simple, and to the point. Just the way I like it!
~Eliza
Monday, September 3, 2012
The Great Return
I am finally back in business, thank goodness! I still don't have regular internet access, but I recently purchased a tablet so I should still be able to get online to update my blog and do the other things I need to do every 1-3 days.
Now that the quick update is taken care of, it's time to get back to the usual stuff.
I have obviously had plenty of time to write some new material since my last post. Most of them are fragments. In the past three weeks I have moved again, left my old job, and started a new one. That's not more than I can handle, but it has provided me with minimal stress and a good deal of distractions, the latter being the larger problem.
I don't have any deeply personal or analytical material to post today, but since it has been so long since I updated I think it's only fair to post one of the fragments I came up with during my hiatus. Enjoy!
I wish I could be that unaffected
I struggle with each step and you
hold your head so high
with you it's like nothing even happened
you have no trouble forgetting me
I can't even look you in the eye
~Eliza
Now that the quick update is taken care of, it's time to get back to the usual stuff.
I have obviously had plenty of time to write some new material since my last post. Most of them are fragments. In the past three weeks I have moved again, left my old job, and started a new one. That's not more than I can handle, but it has provided me with minimal stress and a good deal of distractions, the latter being the larger problem.
I don't have any deeply personal or analytical material to post today, but since it has been so long since I updated I think it's only fair to post one of the fragments I came up with during my hiatus. Enjoy!
I wish I could be that unaffected
I struggle with each step and you
hold your head so high
with you it's like nothing even happened
you have no trouble forgetting me
I can't even look you in the eye
~Eliza
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