Be willing to write a bad song
!Every artist was at first an amateur
! [[ It’s just the fun of doing it that’s important ]]
!Anything worth doing is worth doing badly
!That’s all any of us are - Charlie Chaplin
Not knowing how to do something is a poor excuse not to try. Jeff Tweedy says that despite writing hundreds of songs, he still struggles with this thought. You have to sound bad in order to sound good. Appreciate the gifts of failure. It will also help you deal with rejection. Remember “bad” is subjective. No one’s judgment will hurt very long if you love your art and your art loves you.
Use “dummy lyrics.” These are just place holders that fit the prosody for now.1
!You can only write regularly if you’re willing to write badly
Embrace the suck.2 Maybe you’ll even be able to Compost that shit.
!To get myself ready, I do warm-ups
Jeff Tweedy says similarly,
!I don’t like every song I write, but I like that I wrote it
If you feel a little uncomfortable or even embarrassed singing your words, you’re on the right track, says Jeff Tweedy. Mary Gauthier said in the [[ Saved by a Song Seminar ]] that she knows it’s about to get good when she starts getting scared. Scare yourself enough that your voice shakes.
!Fear loves you more than anyone
It’s normal to feel uncertain about a new song. What we think is good is rather just familiar enough. Let it sit for a bit. [[ When you have an insight, don’t share it right away ]].
Instead of being concerned with themes and meaning and sense, it’s better to make something that’s meaningful to you.3
!Some writers confuse authenticity … with originality —W. H. Auden