Courtnee
01-01-2006, 01:17 AM
This thread is mainly aimed towards aspiring songwriters, but each exercise can be used to help with songwriting as well as poetry, short stories, novels, etc.
The biggest mistake made by songwriters is racking the brain, trying to come up with something that rhymes, has proper cadence, and/or relevance to what they want to say. But more times than not, that will cause writer's block faster than anything else. The more technical you let your mind get, the less emotion you are putting into the writing, and eventually you will wear yourself too thin.
So, I'm going to share with you guys some tips and exercises I've used to write my songs.
So you wanna write, but not sure what exactly to write about...
This has happened to me a lot, and I'm sure it's happened to many others. There are many different ways to find out what exactly to write about.
Exercise #1: Unlocking your subconcious
1. Close your eyes, and envision a field.
Is it day or night?
Are there people around?
Is the sky cloudy?
Are there any buildings around?
What season is it?
1a. What each answer means.
Daytime: You're curious
Nighttime: You're longing for someone/something
People around: You have a lot of things to say/tell about
No people: Either you have nothing weighing on your mind, or you feel no one is listening/will listen
Cloudy: There has been a recent revelation in your life
Not cloudy: No real changes in your life lately
Buildings: You have a sense of stability in your life
No Buildings: There has been a shift in the stability of your life (whether for the good or bad)
Fall: You're dealing with many changes in your life
Spring: Things are finally starting to look up
Summer: May have something overwhelming going on in your life
Winter: May be experiencing a loss, no matter how big or small
1b. Define what you just saw.
For example, I envisioned a field in the middle of summer, with people around, no buildings in the background, and no clouds in the sky during the day.
So, judging by that, my subconcious is thinking that at this point in my life:
I’m curious
No real changes in my life lately
There has been a shift in the stability of my life (whether for the good or bad)
May have something overwhelming going on in my life
I have a lot of things to say/tell about
2. Expand on these thoughts.
With your subconcious unlocked, you can begin to think on what your mind is thinking the most about. Sometimes just unlocking the subconcious is enough to kill writer's block, but sometimes you need more resources to get the words aflowin'.
Let's say you envisioned the field in the middle of Winter, which would mean you've experienced a loss. Let's also say that you're not sure what it means by that, because you don't feel you've lost anything lately. In this case, sometimes racking your brain can come in handy. Is there someone you were good friends with that you haven't talked to in a while? Is there a band that you really liked that broke up? Hell, even a television show that you were in to that got canceled. Anything can stir up emotion in you that can be great to use in writing.
3. Don't be afraid to exaggerate.
When you are writing, exaggerating is almost expected. It helps build a strong story, whether you're writing a story to begin with, or a song or poem. For example, check this poem out:
Awakened by a horrid sound
My heart pounding in my chest
My eyes drift eractically around the room
As a wave of fear pours over me
Sifting through the empty house
Yet I cannot find the origin of my terror
Was it just all just a dream?
As I venture back upstairs to bed
I begin to slip back underneath the sheets
I notice a horrid stench coming from the hallway
I do not dare peak out into the darkness
As I attempt to get back to sleep...
Wanna know what I wrote that about? Highlight the line under this one:
My cat throwing up a hairball.
See, you can write powerful stuff about damn near anything. All you have to do is be ambiguous about it, and stretch the details with melodramatic exaggeration.
Exercise #2: Bassackwards!
This one is actually really fun. Take one of your favorite songs, one that really moves you. Play it backwards. Pick out words that you hear.
Your mind will "hear" words that pertain to whatever is in your subconcious, so by listening to it backwards, you're not trying too hard to come up with something in your mind. Your mind is doing that for you.
Here's a song I wrote while listening to Breathe No More backwards:
Belonging
Know me...
I saw you chase me far away
Follow me here
And chase my mind away
All the the lightning
Here, when I saw you
I now know the decadence below
I saw you chase me far away
Follow me here
What are you doing to me
And chase my mind away
Hear me, love me
Wake me up
Heroes within you
Here with you helps heal the pain
Now I'm fearing the end
Being here is my only console
All along
I saw you chase me far away
Follow me here
What are you doing to me
And chase my mind away
Kiss me, touch away the emotions that fell
No more for us now
We're all alone.
Of course, I didn't hear all of that. I worked with what I heard and went from there. It's a very fun way to write interesting things that not even you knew was in you!
Exercise #3: Visual Aids
Another great way to start a writing project is to have some sort of visual inspiration. For example, grab a picture that moves you, or a snapshot of a loved one, and write what you feel. Use generic terms, like you're not writing about a thing, but a feeling. I'm going to give you a picture, and if you'd like, PM me with your writing of it:
http://x2f.xanga.com/b9fb87426543325918805/w8927034.jpg
You can write a novel about this picture. Don't pay attention to the technicals of it. Pay attention to what you see as far as emotions. Whoever sends me their poems/stories/songs about this picture, I'll add 'em to this thread!
heres mine:
A morning break
Another day without you here
No more to fake now
I have to be strong
Becoming your subject
Allowing anything and everything to flow through you is the best way to begin a written piece. But a lot of times, people can be aprehensive about getting too emotional or too into the thoughts inside their head, especially when dealing with hardships or traumatic experiences. But one thing that goes unknown to a lot of people is, as soon as you unleash the emotions and feelings into an outlet of any kind, the weight within you will subside.
When I want to effectively show emotion in a song, before I sing, I will 'take myself back' to the time in which I felt what I wrote. It's almost a sense of roleplaying. Whether I've moved forward with whatever I was feeling, or if it was something that happened a long time ago, I will put myself right back in the middle and then press "record". There have been many a time that I will have to stop because I'm crying too much. But once you release some of the overwhelming emotions, first of all you'll be able to think more clearly, but you'll be completely centered in that emotion. No longer will anything be blocking you from pouring out your emotions. And then once you've written however much you possibly can, there will be a sense of release that comes over you. So, you kill two birds with one stone!
No matter what the emotion, going back to the time you felt the most intense amount of it will aide in your writing better than anything else.
The biggest mistake made by songwriters is racking the brain, trying to come up with something that rhymes, has proper cadence, and/or relevance to what they want to say. But more times than not, that will cause writer's block faster than anything else. The more technical you let your mind get, the less emotion you are putting into the writing, and eventually you will wear yourself too thin.
So, I'm going to share with you guys some tips and exercises I've used to write my songs.
So you wanna write, but not sure what exactly to write about...
This has happened to me a lot, and I'm sure it's happened to many others. There are many different ways to find out what exactly to write about.
Exercise #1: Unlocking your subconcious
1. Close your eyes, and envision a field.
Is it day or night?
Are there people around?
Is the sky cloudy?
Are there any buildings around?
What season is it?
1a. What each answer means.
Daytime: You're curious
Nighttime: You're longing for someone/something
People around: You have a lot of things to say/tell about
No people: Either you have nothing weighing on your mind, or you feel no one is listening/will listen
Cloudy: There has been a recent revelation in your life
Not cloudy: No real changes in your life lately
Buildings: You have a sense of stability in your life
No Buildings: There has been a shift in the stability of your life (whether for the good or bad)
Fall: You're dealing with many changes in your life
Spring: Things are finally starting to look up
Summer: May have something overwhelming going on in your life
Winter: May be experiencing a loss, no matter how big or small
1b. Define what you just saw.
For example, I envisioned a field in the middle of summer, with people around, no buildings in the background, and no clouds in the sky during the day.
So, judging by that, my subconcious is thinking that at this point in my life:
I’m curious
No real changes in my life lately
There has been a shift in the stability of my life (whether for the good or bad)
May have something overwhelming going on in my life
I have a lot of things to say/tell about
2. Expand on these thoughts.
With your subconcious unlocked, you can begin to think on what your mind is thinking the most about. Sometimes just unlocking the subconcious is enough to kill writer's block, but sometimes you need more resources to get the words aflowin'.
Let's say you envisioned the field in the middle of Winter, which would mean you've experienced a loss. Let's also say that you're not sure what it means by that, because you don't feel you've lost anything lately. In this case, sometimes racking your brain can come in handy. Is there someone you were good friends with that you haven't talked to in a while? Is there a band that you really liked that broke up? Hell, even a television show that you were in to that got canceled. Anything can stir up emotion in you that can be great to use in writing.
3. Don't be afraid to exaggerate.
When you are writing, exaggerating is almost expected. It helps build a strong story, whether you're writing a story to begin with, or a song or poem. For example, check this poem out:
Awakened by a horrid sound
My heart pounding in my chest
My eyes drift eractically around the room
As a wave of fear pours over me
Sifting through the empty house
Yet I cannot find the origin of my terror
Was it just all just a dream?
As I venture back upstairs to bed
I begin to slip back underneath the sheets
I notice a horrid stench coming from the hallway
I do not dare peak out into the darkness
As I attempt to get back to sleep...
Wanna know what I wrote that about? Highlight the line under this one:
My cat throwing up a hairball.
See, you can write powerful stuff about damn near anything. All you have to do is be ambiguous about it, and stretch the details with melodramatic exaggeration.
Exercise #2: Bassackwards!
This one is actually really fun. Take one of your favorite songs, one that really moves you. Play it backwards. Pick out words that you hear.
Your mind will "hear" words that pertain to whatever is in your subconcious, so by listening to it backwards, you're not trying too hard to come up with something in your mind. Your mind is doing that for you.
Here's a song I wrote while listening to Breathe No More backwards:
Belonging
Know me...
I saw you chase me far away
Follow me here
And chase my mind away
All the the lightning
Here, when I saw you
I now know the decadence below
I saw you chase me far away
Follow me here
What are you doing to me
And chase my mind away
Hear me, love me
Wake me up
Heroes within you
Here with you helps heal the pain
Now I'm fearing the end
Being here is my only console
All along
I saw you chase me far away
Follow me here
What are you doing to me
And chase my mind away
Kiss me, touch away the emotions that fell
No more for us now
We're all alone.
Of course, I didn't hear all of that. I worked with what I heard and went from there. It's a very fun way to write interesting things that not even you knew was in you!
Exercise #3: Visual Aids
Another great way to start a writing project is to have some sort of visual inspiration. For example, grab a picture that moves you, or a snapshot of a loved one, and write what you feel. Use generic terms, like you're not writing about a thing, but a feeling. I'm going to give you a picture, and if you'd like, PM me with your writing of it:
http://x2f.xanga.com/b9fb87426543325918805/w8927034.jpg
You can write a novel about this picture. Don't pay attention to the technicals of it. Pay attention to what you see as far as emotions. Whoever sends me their poems/stories/songs about this picture, I'll add 'em to this thread!
heres mine:
A morning break
Another day without you here
No more to fake now
I have to be strong
Becoming your subject
Allowing anything and everything to flow through you is the best way to begin a written piece. But a lot of times, people can be aprehensive about getting too emotional or too into the thoughts inside their head, especially when dealing with hardships or traumatic experiences. But one thing that goes unknown to a lot of people is, as soon as you unleash the emotions and feelings into an outlet of any kind, the weight within you will subside.
When I want to effectively show emotion in a song, before I sing, I will 'take myself back' to the time in which I felt what I wrote. It's almost a sense of roleplaying. Whether I've moved forward with whatever I was feeling, or if it was something that happened a long time ago, I will put myself right back in the middle and then press "record". There have been many a time that I will have to stop because I'm crying too much. But once you release some of the overwhelming emotions, first of all you'll be able to think more clearly, but you'll be completely centered in that emotion. No longer will anything be blocking you from pouring out your emotions. And then once you've written however much you possibly can, there will be a sense of release that comes over you. So, you kill two birds with one stone!
No matter what the emotion, going back to the time you felt the most intense amount of it will aide in your writing better than anything else.