Donald Miller wrote a super helpful post on doing creative work.
Click here if you can’t see the video.
His point is essential for songwriters:
A creator does not build on emotion!
Don’t wait for sappy feelings, perfect circumstances, and ideal surroundings to do your work. Get up and get to work. The best songwriters are those who have learned to develop a discipline and a strong work ethic.
Though you may not feel the sappy emotion, envision all the recipients of your hard work when the song is finished! This gives us hope as songwriters because, if we’re honest, we don’t “feel” it all the time. That frees me up to write and generate ideas when my mind and body feel like poop. Just do it.
Question: what songwriting disciplines have you tried? Share them in the comment section below.
Cool post! Whenever I think and play something really nice, I record it…eventually, these things will turn out in a song. I recently wrote a song! It was really spontaneous because the lyrics went through my head at night…I wrote them down in 1 hr…and the next couple of days worked on melodies. Really cool how God does things sometimes
Good to hear, Brandon! Songwriting is a skill that is developed over a long time. Keep it up and you’ll have more songs!
Cool post! Whenever I think and play something really nice, I record it…eventually, these things will turn out in a song. I recently wrote a song! It was really spontaneous because the lyrics went through my head at night…I wrote them down in 1 hr…and the next couple of days worked on melodies. Really cool how God does things sometimes!