Navigating Songwriting Blocks….
I thought I’d share some strategies for any of you struggling with finishing work, and experiencing song-writing blocks. This can be tough to navigate, especially early on in one’s song-writing journey, before you’ve had the chance to gain more writing experience. If you’re in a spot, here are some ideas:
Suspend judgment….writing miles on the clock…
Shift your goal away from wanting to love (or even like) the work for now, towards finishing it. Embrace the idea that the achievement will be to see the idea through, approaching the song at this stage as a vehicle for learning. Take the view that it’s too soon in your relationship with the song to evaluate whether you like it or not, and remind yourself that you’ll have the chance to assess this later. The worst case is that the song ends up on the cutting room floor. And if so, it won’t have been a failure or time wasted; far from it. For the song may end up being a gateway song to an idea you do love. Regardless, you’ll gain confidence and experience from finishing it and hone tools only gained from seeing an idea to the finish line . In time, with more writing, you’ll develop a sense of when to jump to a new idea and when to see one through. For now, get some writing miles on the clock to gain tools, experience and confidence. Suspend judgment and finish.
Let the song do one thing…..clarify intention….
Sometimes there are just too many ideas competing for space and attention that our poor song struggles to keep up. Trying to do too many things at once can mean that none of them end up quite landing, and with so many avenues to take, it can be hard to pick one. If you’re stuck finishing something, ask yourself: “If I had to distil this song down to one idea, mood or story, what would it be?” This can give an invaluable intention-reset to allow you to make adjustments and/or decide on the path to finish the work. And if you’re struggling to answer the question, then you may want to re evaluate or reconnect with your original intention. Remind yourself that an effective song only needs to express one thing well. As your confidence grows, you’ll be able to maintain several threads at once. For now, when stuck, give yourself permission for the song to do one thing.
Remember: you will write many songs in your lifetime…..this is just one of them….
Building from the last idea, there are things we know intellectually which can be easily forgotten in the heat of song-writing battle. For example, we often forget that we will write other songs. This is an easy thing to forget, and a powerfully liberating thing to remember. This will be just one song out of a body of work written over the course of one’s lifetime. When we remember this, suddenly the pressure for this particular song to encompass all that we are musically dissipates. It is impossible for one song to represent all that we are, and yet, we often fall in to the trap of trying to achieve this! Individual songs are not designed to carry this kind of weight; they buckle under such enormous pressure. All the songs we write in our lifetime will combine to show us who we are in technicolour. When stuck, think about the particular part of you which you want this piece to explore. And that is enough.
Manage your internal audience……..
You may not be aware of this consciously, but I’d wage a bet that when you’re writing there are be people with you internally during the process. This is quite normal, as we all have people we keep with us during our creative process, as a kind of internal quality control, cheerleader and so forth. Often in the form of an imagined parent, peer, former teacher, musical hero etc. I believe they are different facets of ourselves, with another face; a psychological device to help us access something we feel we need in that moment. Sometimes they can be guiding forces for good, but they do need to be managed! For sometimes, they can also be inhibitors if we let them run riot. So think about who you may be summoning during your writing process, when and why. And are they proving to be a constructive or destructive presence in a given moment? Practice conjuring the right internal audience member to help navigate that particular song, and ask any unhelpful influences to leave the room. Consider the part of you which is best qualified to assist with this work, and quieten any others. Sometimes one inner audience member may be the perfect guide for one song, but an inhibiting factor for another. Remember, they are all just different parts of you. Take control over the inner dialogue during the process and watch your creative freedom increase.