I've gone through another move recently and have not had internet access for a few weeks. It may be another week or so before I can continue posting regular updates. I do have several topics and new material to share.
I have also just started at a new full time job and am currently looking for a part time as well. It's going to be a busy schedule for a while, but it's what I need right now.
In the meantime, I've got plenty of writing and sleep to catch up on. I'll be able to put up another post by Monday!
~Eliza
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
The Purpose
I have heard so many people say that they love songs and love music because it makes them feel happy. That is certainly a good thing, but I have to disagree when I hear them say that the purpose of songs is to make us feel happy. I believe that the purpose of songs is to make us feel and happy isn't the only emotion a person can feel.
Writing lyrics makes me feel happy no matter what emotions led me to write them. Songwriting can help me express my happiness or help me deal with my sadness. Above all, it is the best way I know how to truly be myself. Maybe it will never take me anywhere and maybe no more than a few of my friends will ever appreciate anything that I write. That's a very real possibility, although I hope it's not the case. Either way, writing these songs didn't just help me feel happy. It helped me feel. And I am so grateful for that.
Sharing what you have to say is a powerful thing though. And knowing that you can get someone to listen to something that's important to you is a valuable thing that should be cherished by every writer, whether you have one person listening to you or a million. Whatever your purpose is for writing, always keep it in sight.
~Eliza
Writing lyrics makes me feel happy no matter what emotions led me to write them. Songwriting can help me express my happiness or help me deal with my sadness. Above all, it is the best way I know how to truly be myself. Maybe it will never take me anywhere and maybe no more than a few of my friends will ever appreciate anything that I write. That's a very real possibility, although I hope it's not the case. Either way, writing these songs didn't just help me feel happy. It helped me feel. And I am so grateful for that.
Sharing what you have to say is a powerful thing though. And knowing that you can get someone to listen to something that's important to you is a valuable thing that should be cherished by every writer, whether you have one person listening to you or a million. Whatever your purpose is for writing, always keep it in sight.
~Eliza
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Writing Lyrics like you Love Songs
There are a lot of different opinions and perspectives about how to approach songwriting and about what makes a good song. The reason I love my lyrics so much is because they are songs that I want to listen to. I haven't gotten to the point where I have any recordings of the songs that I've written, but there have been so many times when I've been browsing the web for music or listening to a radio station and thought to myself, "You know what? I don't really want to listen to this. I want to hear my song!"
And since there is no recording, I can either listen in my head or sing it to myself. Sometimes it's because the song I wrote relates to something personal I went through, but it's usually just because I think it's a song that has a lot of potential and is fun to sing. And if I enjoy it that much I think other people would enjoy them too.
Write the songs that you would want to listen to. What kind of lyrics pull you into the song? What makes a song stand out to you? Write those kinds of songs because if you want to take those songs anywhere you have to stay motivated and it's hard to stay motivated about a song that doesn't even hold your own interest, let alone anyone else's.
Look to the songs that you enjoy and pull inspiration from them. What rhyming patterns work for the song you're listening to? What metaphors make the song work? It's similiar to reading stories to help you become better at writing them. Examine the strengths that these other writers have and compare them to your weaknesses. Where could you use a better metaphor? Which rhymes are out of place or don't make sense? Once you start paying closer attention to what techniques make other songwriters successful, it will be easier to apply those lessons to your own songwriting. Never underestimate the value of self education and determination.
~Eliza
And since there is no recording, I can either listen in my head or sing it to myself. Sometimes it's because the song I wrote relates to something personal I went through, but it's usually just because I think it's a song that has a lot of potential and is fun to sing. And if I enjoy it that much I think other people would enjoy them too.
Write the songs that you would want to listen to. What kind of lyrics pull you into the song? What makes a song stand out to you? Write those kinds of songs because if you want to take those songs anywhere you have to stay motivated and it's hard to stay motivated about a song that doesn't even hold your own interest, let alone anyone else's.
Look to the songs that you enjoy and pull inspiration from them. What rhyming patterns work for the song you're listening to? What metaphors make the song work? It's similiar to reading stories to help you become better at writing them. Examine the strengths that these other writers have and compare them to your weaknesses. Where could you use a better metaphor? Which rhymes are out of place or don't make sense? Once you start paying closer attention to what techniques make other songwriters successful, it will be easier to apply those lessons to your own songwriting. Never underestimate the value of self education and determination.
~Eliza
Sunday, July 8, 2012
A Little Update
The creative writing is coming along quite well. I have written a few songs and fragments in the past couple of weeks. All the other writing has been poems and stories. I plan on using the rest of July to focus on that and revert my attention back to songwriting in August.
I'm currently trying to find homes for two poems that I wrote. One is called "Too Shallow" and the other is "Dear God". I am also working on finishing some stories that I'll be submitting by the end of the month.
As far as my songs go, I recently wrote a song called "Ain't Nothin' to Me" and started a couple new ones called "No Business" and "I Don't Feel Sorry".
I apologize for not updating for so long. I've really been focusing on these other projects that I'm excited about publishing and I'm making some real progress. I'll be sharing some more of my lyrics on here soon!
~Eliza
I'm currently trying to find homes for two poems that I wrote. One is called "Too Shallow" and the other is "Dear God". I am also working on finishing some stories that I'll be submitting by the end of the month.
As far as my songs go, I recently wrote a song called "Ain't Nothin' to Me" and started a couple new ones called "No Business" and "I Don't Feel Sorry".
I apologize for not updating for so long. I've really been focusing on these other projects that I'm excited about publishing and I'm making some real progress. I'll be sharing some more of my lyrics on here soon!
~Eliza
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Writing Stories and Songs
I feel refreshed and I feel like I'm back! It's time to move on. No more wallowing and no more pity parties. I've got a new attitude and I'm ready to make the most of things and remember the good things about this experience instead of focusing on the negative and the parts about this that hurt me.
As far as my writing is concerned, I would like to focus on writing stories for a while, a few weeks at least. I found some anthologies and contests that would be interesting to write for and I'd like to give it a shot.
This doesn't mean giving up on songwriting and it certainly doesn't mean giving up this blog. I love writing lyrics and I love writing for my blog, so I'll continue to post updates on my blog while I'm working on these projects.
Songwriting and story writing both come with their own challenges. For songs, you have to convey your thoughts with a much smaller amount of words and some of the words you use for that song are repeated over and over in the chorus. In addition to having a limited number of words to use to convey an emotion or a story, those words have to be put together meticulously so that they will fit into a rhyming pattern or specific melody.
For stories, you can pretty much use as many words as you want, make it as long or short as you want. This comes with a greater responsibility, however, requiring the writer to have a higher understanding of how to create and describe characters, develop a believable and interesting storyline, grasp the fundamentals of storytelling, and write well enough to convince an editor to publish their story and entertain the readers that see it. These are challenges that I have not really faced. I have written several stories that I felt weren't quite ready to send out yet, but lacked the dedication to follow through and make the changes that would make it better.
I consider writing lyrics to be easier. They come to me quicker and they're generally more fun. Once I write lyrics, I start singing them whenever I get bored. When I write a story I usually don't sing it. Now that I'm feeling more inspired and energized, I'm ready to tackle story writing again and see where it takes me. I'm very excited about these projects I'll be working on the next few weeks, and when I'm done my songbook will be waiting for me.
~Eliza
As far as my writing is concerned, I would like to focus on writing stories for a while, a few weeks at least. I found some anthologies and contests that would be interesting to write for and I'd like to give it a shot.
This doesn't mean giving up on songwriting and it certainly doesn't mean giving up this blog. I love writing lyrics and I love writing for my blog, so I'll continue to post updates on my blog while I'm working on these projects.
Songwriting and story writing both come with their own challenges. For songs, you have to convey your thoughts with a much smaller amount of words and some of the words you use for that song are repeated over and over in the chorus. In addition to having a limited number of words to use to convey an emotion or a story, those words have to be put together meticulously so that they will fit into a rhyming pattern or specific melody.
For stories, you can pretty much use as many words as you want, make it as long or short as you want. This comes with a greater responsibility, however, requiring the writer to have a higher understanding of how to create and describe characters, develop a believable and interesting storyline, grasp the fundamentals of storytelling, and write well enough to convince an editor to publish their story and entertain the readers that see it. These are challenges that I have not really faced. I have written several stories that I felt weren't quite ready to send out yet, but lacked the dedication to follow through and make the changes that would make it better.
I consider writing lyrics to be easier. They come to me quicker and they're generally more fun. Once I write lyrics, I start singing them whenever I get bored. When I write a story I usually don't sing it. Now that I'm feeling more inspired and energized, I'm ready to tackle story writing again and see where it takes me. I'm very excited about these projects I'll be working on the next few weeks, and when I'm done my songbook will be waiting for me.
~Eliza
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
A Productive Week
A few days ago I went to bed at around midnight. I tossed and turned for about a half an hour, then I got up and worked on some songs for about four hours. I finished "Bad Boy With a Heart" and "Just Gets Harder"! Both songs had just been fragments for a couple of months, so I'm very happy that I was able to finally finish those.
I didn't finish any other songs over the past couple days, but I've started half a dozen new ones and added several lines to some old ones. It has definitely started out to be a very productive week and I plan on continuing that on my days off. Hopefully, this new level of energy and inspiration will last that long.
~Eliza
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
I'm Back!
I was able to take four days off from work. It's not exactly a vacation, but unlike most of my other days off I wasn't tied down with errands to run or other obligations. I could do whatever I wanted the entire time and it was great.
I turned 22 on the 19th. The time off gave me time to really think about things. I caught up on lost sleep, I wrote a little, and I practiced what I had. I have a renewed passion for my songs. That's what I really gained this past weekend. It's not that the passion wasn't there before, but it's easy to lose sight of it when it seems that you have no choice but to spend all your time trying to figure out how to solve your money problems. I have so little money available to me right now that every single decision is complicated by it and it gets frustrating and discouraging to constantly be held back from doing things that I want and need to do because of money problems.
Those kinds of problems are things we all deal with. It won't just go away. It's a part of life and I have to deal with it. It's a real issue that can stand in my way sometimes, but it's time to stop letting that keep me from doing what I want to do.
~Eliza
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