Hi (0)==#paranormal guitar (& welcome back to chordie!),
I am not an expert, but I like to write songs.
For what it's worth, here is my take on this often-asked question:
Do it every day. Invest some quality time each day to working with your song ideas. Do it when you feel like it - and especially do it when you don't feel like it. Creating anything takes a little inspiration and a whole lot of perspiration. Practice being creative every day . . . song writing takes some real effort.
Keep it simple . . . the basic structure of a song is not very complex.
Focus on a couple of simple verses and a chorus.
Keep your ears and eyes open - there are song ideas everywhere if you practice seeing and hearing them. Jot down phrases, sights, anything that seems interesting. Anything that sparks your imagination can be the spark for a song.
Songs are a great way to convey simple or small ideas - if you want to tackle complex issues, write a book.
Have lots of ideas that you can play with in a notebook. Occasionally, a song will spring forth from start to finish in one sitting - however, most songs take some time to ripen. If one idea is not working - then, just try another idea.
Once you have an idea that seems promising, ponder it and try to see it from many different angles . . . let your imagination go on a flight of fancy.
A great way to limber up your lyrical imagination is to take a simple song you like and write some new words for the melody. Simply borrow the melody and chords and supply your own words.
Probably, most of what you create will be 'gravel'. However, eventually you will create a 'gem'. Don't expect that every song will be a gem.
Hope this helps, James
"That darn Pythagorean Comma thing keeps messing me up!"
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_comma[/url]
