Correction - I will find the words.

[cameron]

Sept 15, 2008, 3:26pm, mewman wrote: I've written stuff on envelopes while I was driving! MewmanYou mean there's some other way?? Cam

[geo]

Aug 21, 2008, 4:13pm, linziellen wrote:Guys, I'm confused You know when you have all your ideas lined up in your head, you have a story you want to tell, you can almost see it on the paper, in fact you already know exactly what you want to say...BUT NOTHING COMES OUT! Nothing feels right, nothing looks right, nothing can compare to what's going on in your head. What do you do, how do you get it out?I seem to have so many mystery lyrics trapped up inside and I can't help think I'd feel better off without them. Looks like I might be fighting the perfectionist again. I don't think this is writers block it's just the pain I experience when I'm trying to say something that doesn't want to be said.Any thoughts? I'm baffled. PS - Don't Cha Just Hate Creative Thinkers!!!Blah blah blah, melt down, ignore all that -I WILL FIND THE WORDS Hey Girl!! How you doing? I often have a similar experience.... although with me I will hear this great arrangement, chord changes, lyrics etc... but am unable to translate that to my guitar (I'm a below average musician) .. so I just start banging around chords mumbling lyrics and I normally end up with something close.... but not what's in my head..... but I'm normally happy with it.... Peace, geo

[linziellen]

Guys, thank you for all these wonderful posts. I actually read them a while back, but for some reason I didn't reply. I found some words, whether they mean anything to anybody else is yet to be seen! I'll probably post them up one day. Thank you for all the inspiration and advice.I'm sure this will crop up again at some point

[leejohnson]

Lots of great responses...I agree, brainstorming and quieting the "editor" voice, using "placer" lines and using story board techinques to map out the key moments in the timeline of the song...are some things that can help. Sometimes making lists from Thesauras and rhyme dictionary of little tidbits that pop out at you as interesting can also provide material that may or may not be used later...there was a great taxi video clip on that but i dont know how to get the link...story board goes like thisv1...they meet, fall in love, whatever, he is awkward at first and tries to hit on her, she tells him to grow up, and bla blaChorus...summarizes the chemistry going on, good, bad whateverv2...their relationship continues, something interesting happens, or perhaps youre doing a vignette type song, verses include differnet times/places or different characters enter...tougher to pull off though....there can only ever be one "she" in a song...Ch2...Summarizes again and if you're really cookin', can also be the same chorus lyrics but with a new meaning...becuase of the progressed story line...Bridge...heres where the main twist/climax/new mind blowing piece of info gets divulged...sometimes called "the ringer" Chorus; now summarizes again, but with new meaning becuase of ringer info in bridge. A couple good books about writing...not about the techinques above, but about real writing...honesty, vulnerability etc...how to achieve truthful, soul baring writing etc...Writing Down The Bones...Natalie GoldbergSo You Want to Write?....Brenda UelandAlso check out NSAI, if you are a songwriter of any genre and have not joined, you are missing out! Plus they lobby in washington and have just passed monumental legislation that all songwriters in all genres will benefit from...thats worth the membership right there!Cheers,Lee

[suzdoyle]

Excellent suggestions, Lee!Re: NSAI -- er, you're referring to the Nashville Songwriters Association International, right? Not the other interesting groups that use the same acronym when I googled NSAI ? !! Love the storyboard idea!Suz

[og]

You don't have to be vulnerable to write, just open a vein and bleed...

[muddly]

I'm sorta new here and been submiting for almost a year but maybe what helps is getting someone with you on a flatop or piano or nothing but listening and adding input to get the lyric idea to work. Marc.

[ciskokidd]

This is an excellent thread as it has and will continue to happen to most of us.Writer's block or call it what you will is hard to get your head around. There are some excellent bits of information here and in some really good books on writing. Two of my favorites are:"On Writing" by Stephen King"Write" by Karen E. PetersonThe latter addresses the writer's block head on. It takes time to get your head around the concepts she uses, but it has made a big difference to my writing. I still get stuck, but now I can step back and make the moves to get it flowing again.Best regards to all my fellow writers,Cisko

[squids]

Hi Linzi, I'm really late to this thread and no doubt you've moved on from the block (yay!! ) As regards vulnerability......I believe one of the requirements of a good songwriter is to be vulnerable to your own emotions and to your imagination. If you can feel empathy for a character in your song, that's vulnerable enough, imho. As for writer's block.......well, I don't have all the tricks I've read here. I do most of my writing in my head, I try to spare myself pen and paper, it's one more obstacle between me and what I want (finished product). If the lyric isn't coming, I mark where I'm stuck and go on to something else. If I think I'll forget the lyric, I write down what I have, then put it away and go elsewhere, do something else. I try not to do that, it helps keep the song in my mind if I memorize what I have. But I do it that way because less pressure = less likelihood of writer's block. But that's jes me..........I hope you find what you're lookin' for, honey! Steve's right, you're vulnerable enough, sweepea.