I need some advice

[jchitty]

Well, without sounding too full of it, I have become a songwriting machine lately. I have now written almost 106 songs, and I only started writing two years ago. I worry about losing this creative streak I'm on. The bottom line is that I need to stop writing so much, and I need to start getting critiques, demoing and pitching these songs.These songs are all completed, but then another one pops up, and I spend all day writing it. I wish I could say I had the time to do both....get critiques, make demos, etc.....but it seems like songwriting is taking up ALL my time now.To the veterans out there....how do you reconcile writing with the actual 'go foward' steps that I need to take, such as just putting the writing on hold and focusing on the finished product? This means contacting people like Jason Blume for critiques (or TAXI as well) and then just biting the bullet and finding the funds to make my demoes....just 'doing it.'I really want to stop writing and just go with what I have for now, but I'm fearful that I'll lose this writing streak I'm on. Maybe I'm not good at time managment, but it seems I don't have enough time in the day for both writing and coming up with the finished product. Do any of you out there ever have this problem?

[squidlips]

Every. Single. Day. I often think I need to stop writing so I can start pitching more. Then I wonder if taking time off will ruin my rhythm.Then I reread the Artist's Way (good book) and decided I was overthinking it.

[jchitty]

Quote:Every. Single. Day. I often think I need to stop writing so I can start pitching more. Then I wonder if taking time off will ruin my rhythm.Then I reread the Artist's Way (good book) and decided I was overthinking it. I'll check out Artist's Way, Squiddy.

[squidlips]

Well, you know, I took 8 years off once. Like I said, I about flatlined doing it but here I am. Talent doesn't lie fallow, it grows with you while you're doing other things. It's just.....I don't know....out there all the time, waiting. That's jes my POV though. I'm sure the other guys will have better input.

[tedsingingfox]

And btw, Chits, The Artist's Way is the book that saved my sanity for many years in San Francisco (AND was begun while Julia was living here in Taos...read the book) . To this day, I wake up, make a cup of tea, and climb back in bed to write my morning pages. Going on three years, now.Be grateful you're able to produce on THAT level, and don't question it. I'm lucky to have what I consider 8-10 "finished" (in my head, in the lyrics, in the melody) songs a year. Little snippets of songs, lyrics, chord progressions... I got a million of 'em. I'd PAY for the chance to trade places for a month or two, believe me. Wanna? Honey, when the MUSE is speaking to you, just listen. (and take notes! )Ted

[hummingbird]

Quote:Every. Single. Day. I often think I need to stop writing so I can start pitching more. Then I wonder if taking time off will ruin my rhythm.Then I reread the Artist's Way (good book) and decided I was overthinking it. Hey Chitty, what if you looked at it a different way. What if you said, I'm going to concentrate on writing for this period of time (say, like, the 50 songs in 90 days challenge). Then, when that period of time was up, that you would then concentrate on producing the best of the best out of the songs/instrumentals that you had sketched out? You sound pretty prolific, and I know for a fact that a lot of songwriters don't find it easy to write everyday or even every month, so you want to stay open to the flow. Who says you should be producing right now, just keep writing... perhaps that's what you need. The other thing I might point out is.... writing a song is (sort of) the easy part... when we start to struggle with demos, and instruments and vocals and production issues... it can feel overwhelming & takes a lot of time. My goal right now is to build my cataloque of master quality songs/instrumentals to 200 (ummmm, 3 down, 197 to go). Well, I can write a song in a day... but producing one effectively takes me a long time... a week, maybe more. So maybe I can write 15 songs in 28 days.... but I can only produce 2 or 3 at best in the same period. But that's what it is and I have to stay the course & trust that I will get better with those skills.Just a few thoughts,cheersHummin'birdPS - I love the Artist's Way... a book that makes you *work* at overcoming the blocks to your own creativity.

[squidlips]

No truer words were ever spoken. Production is very time consuming.

[jchitty]

Squids.....I like your point about ability not lying fallow, that it grows with you....that's something to ponder. Ted, okay, you and Squids have really got me thinking about this 'Artist's Way' book. I have a dentist appointment this morning. There is a Barnes & Noble near the dentist, so I'll just stop by there and check out the book if they stock it. LOL, the MUSE sometimes drives me batty though....I always go back to that saying, 'some people are condemned by the Gods to write." Vikki, I always wanted to take your challenge of 50 songs in 90 days, but I knew it would drive me even more bonkers, hehe. I'd end up writing 24 hours a day, and I would have put the world around me on hold. I know you're just using that as an example though, and you have a point here. Actually, your suggestion about imposing a time limit is something I've been thinking about. I've been telling people that I plan to write until the end of the year, and then in 2008, I'll start my production phase. I think this would give me the sense of closure that I need, setting that date of December 31st. Then I'd spend six months on the production end, and in the middle of next year, I'd take up writing again. If in that six month production phase, a song did come to me, I just put the bits and pieces of it on the tape recorder and give myself permission not to finish it immediately (as I'm prone to do) but to finish in the future. You might be saying to do both if I can, but I have a one track mind, and I have to concentrate on one thing at a time. Yeah, writing is easy....the production phase is overwhelming. It probably does boil down to trusting myself....I have not yet reached the phase you folks have....this is all new to me. Plus, even though I've written over a hundred songs, only 5 to 10 of them might even be worth producing.....I really am starting to believe that you have to write a hundred songs to get 10 good ones out of the bunch. Anyway, thanks, folks.....I feel a little better.

[arkjack]

The problem with an inventory of 106 songs is that you really only want to give the most attention and demo budget to the five absolute best out of the whole group. I have a sizable catalog of copyrights, but after getting an education from TAXI critiques and elsewhere, I am able to identify a large part of the catalog that just ain't gonna fly anywhere because of one element or another - predictable rhyme, cliche, static melodies or lack of contrast..... so I weed out about 75% of the songs and just chalk them up to ideas that can be cannibalized to make a future hit.... For the remaining 25% I try to halve it again (wisdom of Solomon principle.....)... to pick the best of the best, .... and if that list is too large, then go halve it again... when I get down to 2 dozen, I feel like I got the batch of songs that I would like to work on and devote some time too.... from there, I'll do simple guitar bass vocal demos and start posting them for critique..... and then start weeding out the best of that batch....... ( I'll leave up to Taxijon to comment about having a block of songs critiqued ...... ) Most of the critique feedback points to things that need rewrite.... and that's where I start to fall apart .... its hard to take a song you feel is there, and have someone tell you its not quite there, realize they're right, and then have to figure out what you're going to do to fix it.... I have a few tunes that I have been tweeking like this for about a year..... some I have given up on and moved on.... I have about three tunes from the past three years that after considering all the feedback, and finally working out the rewrites, I would be ready to take to someone and pay the larger $$ to have it demoed with players and singers other than myself in a studio other than mine..... So again, my advice.... you have to get that group of songs down to your very best three otherwise, unless you were one of the recent powerball or megamillions winner.... you will drive yourself nuts and go broke trying to do full demo on the whole inventory.... The process is not much different from how they wind up with just 12 songs on a major artist's albumGood luck Chits.... keep up the writing....ArkJack

[tedsingingfox]

And you are more correct than many of us would like to admit...You can't write a GREAT song until you've written a lot of the crap out of your system. Keep writing. And then follow arkjack's advice. VERY smart, and FAR less time consuming than trying to demo 106 songs in a 6-month period. I'm exhausted and in need of a nap just thinking about it... But keep producing while you can. I'm SO envious of a machine like you...but don't forget to stop and oil the works/grease the wheels every now and then. There's not a machine on earth that doesn't need a little R&R/TLC now and then.Ted