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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Songwriting → writers block!
hey.. i haven't written a good song in about a month now and i was wondering if anyone had any writing exercise to get my creative juices flowing??
I have even tried writing a song about how i can't write a song.. it end up going down in flames!... haha
writers blocks hard to shake sometimes... try listnin' to some music that's lyrycs particularly ispire or influence you, then maybe just sit down with the guitar and rattle off whatever comes to mind. Another good excericse is to pick a topic and force yourself to write a song, while it might not turn out great the practice is always good and alot of times I'll turn out a line or two that I end up using later.
hi kbrassel welcome to chordie ,have a look through the hundreds of songs posted here there's plenty of ideas to get you started....stay cool
hi kbrassel
all i can say about writers block is, not to force it, if it's there it will come itself.
on the other hand, if you play guitar, try to learn a new instrument, that usually gets my juices flowing.
or, try writing down 20 or so potential titles, then try writing a song around each, some may be crap, but some may also be good.
kapla
phill
I save everything I write, good and crappy. If you go back and look at the crappy ones you might get a good idea of how it should have been written and take off from there. I also get some of my best lines at night when I haven't quite fallen asleep. Keep a note pad and pencil near your bed and write down any lines as soon as you can! Works for me.
I've not posted any songs i've written because to be honest none of them feel finished, however I agree with the last comment. I personally get up at 5am every morning to go jogging and I think of little lyrics while i'm out. The second I get in, the laptop goes on and I note the lyrics or words and save them in my "Song Idea's" folder. WhenI write a new song theres hundreds of little idea's and one-liners to mish-mash together into something relatively good.
Same applies to guitar ideas. I'll play guitar before and after work and if anything sounds good it gets noted in my "Guitar Idea's" folder.
Hope it helps,
Nathan
For me, a lot of my songs will come from just sitting with my guitar and just happening across a couple of chords that sound good together. Since I always write music first and lyrics second I never give any thought to lyrics for inspiration.
My biggest problem is keeping the songs in a key that I can sing, my voice is a real limiting factor for me. But once I have a nice sound from a cpuple of chords I will then expand from that point. Chords are my catalyst.
Hi kbrassel - Lots of good advice in previous posts, especially about jotting down ideas or observations. Always have a piece of paper and a pencil in your pocket.
Even if you don't seem to be making progress on songs that are underway you still need to keep your eyes and ears and imagination open for ideas. Gather these bits together and have them on hand because they become the raw material for flights of fancy.
Keep working on stuff you have already started - but also start some other stuff too. Don't feel like you must 'finish' something before you can start on another idea. Having several ideas working seems to help me. Also, work at song writing every day (whether you feel like it or not).
I think every creative person has dry spells - don't let it bug you too much. Just to shake things up a bit, try writing limericks or haiku or anything that will be a change of pace. Go for a long brisk walk and let your thoughts wander (but have that piece of paper & pencil with you).
Try writing a song about writers block.
[C] [F]
"I've got writers block in these fingers of mine,
[C] [G7]
They won't let me write a thing,
[C] [F]
Over and over in my mind,
[C] [G7] [C]
I try to think of something to sing."
have fun... Badeye 
kbrassel
When I have the dreaded writers block and am having a hard time coming up with lyrics I substitute all those syllables and vowels for words that don't make any sense at all. For example.....Jellyboo...filbertflange...jingy jingy...dopuumway and the list goes on. If have your melody, than fit words like these into your song and soon you'll come up with the right words.This makes it a fun way to get the right lyrics and dispel the dreaded writers block.Don't pressure yourself to finish the song.If its not working ...file it and come back to it later.
Keep on Pluckin
KAP54
recording ideas in a folder is a good idea,electronic(pc files) or hard copy (paper) I have most of mine in a manilla folder in my file cabinet under the above mentioned "ideas for songs" some date back 20 yrs and are faded but I am inspired by these "fossels"and they yield some new slants on the original that can be used and have been in some of the songs i have recently recorded. so save everything anyway you can for times when nothing new crosses your mind sometimes somthing "old" can be made fresh by changing a chord or two or altering a verse into a great song
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Songwriting → writers block!
