[This guest post is by Jeff Goins of Goins Writer]
I got my first guitar when I was 16. My dad bought it for me for $100. I played it through an 8-inch Gorilla amp. It was an electric, Fender Stratocaster knock-off.
A few months later, I quit.
So how did I end up on the road, playing music professionally with a group, years later? I picked that guitar back up. But the journey for getting there was arduous.
I quit playing guitar about five times that first year. I would learn a chord or two and then want to immediately rock out, busting into a Hendrix-esque solo without having learned the fundamentals. When my playing didn’t sound like Jimi’s, I would get frustrated; then disillusioned, and then I would quit.
This went on for several months. I was your typical noncommittal teenager who wanted to be Kurt Cobain.
Through this arduous process, I learned that starting is easy; follow-through is hard.
But eventually, I got the hang of it. And I even started writing songs (which I still do on occasion). Creative ideas always come to me — as do metaphors and melodies — so it’s a pretty natural process for me to start writing a song, a poem, or an essay. The hard part, I’ve found, is finishing.
For all intents and purposes, I’m a writer. In a town full of musicians, I don’t consider myself an “artist” like the genius who waited on my table last night (it’s typical in Nashville to get served at a restaurant by someone whom you’ll see onstage later that night). And as a writer, I’ve learned a few facts about myself:
- I’m lazy.
- I’m a procrastinator.
- I hate finishing things, but I enjoy having finished.
Mostly, I’ve learned that my love of ideas can lead me into dangerous waters, if I’m not careful. Like many creatives, I have the tendency to start a lot of projects without finishing any of them. This leads me to feel frustrated with myself and sometimes bitter.
What I’ve learned as a writer that, I believe, is relevant to songwriting is this: It feels good to finish something. And while finishing is a discipline, it allows you to do what you really enjoy — starting.
So here are three disciplines of songwriting (or any creative practice) that allow you to finish more often:
1) Apply the “procrastination snowball” technique to creative projects.
Dave Ramsey uses what he calls the “debt snowball effect” to help people get out of debt. The principle is simple: encourage people to pay off their smallest debts first, so that they gain confidence to approach the larger ones. The same can be said for the creative process — get a few wins under your belt.
Make a list of your creative projects and prioritize them according to those that are closest to finishing. This is not always wise, as you may have a lot of seemingly urgent tasks, but for the most part, I’ve found this to work.
Write the last line of the chorus. Make those finishing touches on the painting. Compose the last section of the blog post.
2) Settle for “good enough.”
I may have just lost you, so please hang in there. Here’s the bottom line: true art changes people, and the world can’t be changed by what it doesn’t see or hear. If you’re a perfectionist, then I suggest a new discipline: ship.
Take whatever you have created and complete it today, to the best of your abilities, and put it out there for people to see. Get in the habit of shipping, of finishing things.
Will everything be remarkable? Probably not. But as you develop this discipline you’ll realize something: as you create more and more, you’ll become more creative, and the quality of your art will improve. You’ll also find that it takes you less time to compose a song or write a melody as it once did. What you are doing here is stretching your creative muscles.
You do this by settling for “good enough” today so that you can get to excellent tomorrow.
3) Revise.
Art is never finished. Have you ever heard a “real” artist play the same song twice? I haven’t. In fact, most musicians I know are constantly revising their songs. As are many authors and even some painters.
To be fair, there is something to be said about finishing, but the beauty of art is that you can always add to it, build upon it. Music is especially this way, because the song is living inside of you.
Moreover, knowing that you have the freedom to go back and revise your work allows you to settle for good enough and finish, which is what this is all about.
As you develop these disciplines and finish more projects, you’ll find that this frustration you felt with yourself (as I felt when I was trying to be Jimi) will slowly go away. As you gain creative momentum, you’ll finish more often, which will allow you to do what you really want — start again.
Question: What is a project you’ve started that you need to finish? Let us know in the comments. You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Jeff Goins lives in Nashville, TN with his wife and dog. He is a writer, marketing guy, and innovator. You can follow him on his blog and Twitter.
Did you write this post specifically for me, Jeff? Because I needed it. Great tips here. I really need to finish what I start. As much as people (artists in particular) tend to shrink away from #2, I’m really coming to grips with it. The more you ship, the more you get confident. Shipping then becomes easier.
Yes, I did, Tony… and myself. Let’s start a support group. 🙂
Love your tip for building confidence – so true.
I am not going to lie, I have over 100 pages of articles that I have started that have not been finished. I also have 50 pages of a manuscript that has been sitting alone for 2 years. This is good stuff, and i feel pretty convicted.
oops.
Thanks, dude. At least you’re creating! Between starting and finishing, the latter is the easy part.
Looks like it’s time to release those articles to the world, Darrell.
Amen.
Right on the money brother! I encourage allot of my writers to try and write the worst sing they possible can, then it’s all up hill from there:-)
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Ramy. Failing is the only way to succeed.
Ramy, I do the same thing. A lot of the songwriters I work with disqualify their ideas before they start. What you suggested is a MUCH better option. Thanks!
Song not sing, sorry I wasn’t paying attention…
got it! 🙂
◦I’m lazy.
◦I’m a procrastinator.
◦I hate finishing things, but I enjoy having finished.
you just described me…weird!
Good points…
I’m a sucker for number 3…
I just described every creative.
Love the post Jeff, great perspective and application! I have projects that I NEED to do (house fixes / remodeling) and I have projects I WANT to finish (creative list) – both lists are amazingly long, but prioritized drastically different in my mind.
Jason, do you have any creative projects on the NEED to do list? In order to move the ball forward it might be a good idea to move one creative project onto that list. Just thinking out loud…:)
David, I appreciate the pressing / encouragement – I’d be interested in your thoughts (and anyone else’s) on this – here is my rationale: My creative list, in this season of my life & family (3 kids 4yrs and under), falls more into the ‘Hobby’ category as apposed to the ‘Errands and Projects’ (to keep the family running smooth) category….
I would maybe suggest focusing on ONE creative project rather than the massive list. Break it down into actionable steps. But you’re right, your family is definitely more important. But what happens is that creative projects never see the light of day because we don’t plan to make them happen. They live in our heads. I know because I’m guilty 🙂
That’s the whole snowball principle. Don’t look at everything you haven’t done; pick one project and finish it. The thrill of completing a creative project will give you momentum to do it again. And again and again.
But Jeff, thats hard! *I guess that is the point of the post huh?!* Thanks to both of you!
Thanks, Jason. Sounds like a good system!
Great post! I especially like the “snowball” idea of finishing the small stuff first to gain confidence.
What group did you play with Jeff?
CTI Music Ministries. We played worship songs and covered positive mainstream pop/rock music. We played at churches, prisons, schools, and rehab centers pretty much every day of the week for nine months. The ministry still sends people on tour every year.
You’ve described me as well, like the rest of the creatives. Several things loomed in the front of my brain as I read your post: I’ll start small – rewriting the bridge of a song I already test drove. Then I’ll move on to the next project: set up the studio that has been dismantled for almost a year as we’ve transitioned. Then I can move on to the next hurdle, which is recording the twenty or so songs I actually have completed in the last few months. I, too, like your snowball analogy, and think it’s easier to look at these things in chunks. Thanks!
Thanks, Elizabeth. Glad it was helpful. Your plan sounds good – just get it done. You can always tweak later!
Settle for “good enough.” I really appreciate this advice and, Will everything be remarkable? Probably not. It was tough writing a book. But by reading your comments, I feel better! I’m not sure why there are times when finding the right words are difficult, but when they are, it stalls me! Sometimes I guess there just are no perfect words. Certain things and events can be hard to express and even I am surprised at how God worked out some of the details in my life to convey His plan for me! I stand amazed at an awesome God. God is good! Thanks!!
Thanks, Debbie. This is the main push-back I hear to the ethic of shipping and settling for good enough: What about remarkable?
I, in fact, have similar reservations about creating junk.
But the paradox I’ve found is this: As you settle for “good enough” more regularly, the quality of work gets better.
That is, the stuff that used to take you hours (as you get into the discipline of shipping) may only take thirty minutes.
That’s why I ship – that’s why I settle. Because ultimately, it gets better.
Here are some noteworthy examples, in my opinion, of artists who have made careers out of shipping and are renowned for the quality (and quantity) of songs they write:
John Lennon
Bob Dylan
Jon Foreman
Who would you add to the list?
Thanks Jeff and David. Great post. I really agree with #2 Good Enough for much of the time. You have to choose your battles. But if you’re trying to shift to a higher level, you’ve got to keep working on the art to make that masterpiece, or, sometimes, even good enough.
I’m find myself holding back and not shipping as often cause it really is not good enough, and to ship junk would create a negative impression. 🙁
I think there’s a happy medium between shipping “junk” and shipping a “masterpiece”. Find that and ship. I typically don’t feel like my blog posts are masterpieces. I’ll never post something I think is junk either. The more we get used to “shipping”, as Jeff said, the better we’ll get. Know what I mean?
Hmmm… there are degrees of shipping, I think, Rob. One really unhealthy tendency of creatives is to hold on to their projects for much longer than they should.
One way to “ship” without releasing junk would be to share your song (or poem or book or whatever) with a few trusted friends to get their feedback.
A lot of creatives I know won’t even do that. And I firmly believe that they will never get as good as they want if they don’t learn how to let go of their projects a little. What’s holding them back is fear, and it’s important to name that.
That said, I realize that there are several schools of thought out there about this. My position is that you start making masterpieces by shipping junk and then tweaking it.
As a write, I give myself deadlines just to make me productive. It forces me to get better in a shorter amount of time. If I afford myself the luxury of not having to ship on a regular basis, my art suffers.
Thanks for the comment. Hope I’m not prodding too much here – have tons of respect for you!
Great writing brother, glad you stuck with the guitar!
Thanks, Matthew. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it.
Great post, Jeff! #2 in particular was hard for me to swallow, but it was something I need to hear. I like my work to be the best, but striving for that has definitely held me back. In not finishing some things, I don’t get to start new ones, and then frustration settles in and then I don’t finish anything…. talk about a vicious cycle.
Thanks for the post – it gave me a good kick in the pants 🙂