Writing Exercises – The Empty Paper

Usually, the best ideas are not invented in a split second – but rather created when the mind has already been warmed up. When it comes to writing song lyrics, this is definitely the case.

The way I approach songwriting is this: every new project I start, every new song I start to write, is always something, I have never done before. It’s a clean slate. Every single time I am starting from scratch.

This approach helps me with a lot of things, but the most crucial thing is that it helps to overcome a common pitfall – the empty paper syndrome. When you have nothing to start with, the very first chord progressions, melody lines or lyrics are always the hardest. I believe that every single person that has ever written a song knows this.

So, where should the writing process start then?

The first crucial step is to forget your self-criticism. The second step is, simply put: start writing. Just start creating something.

Whenever you manage to forget the actual goal and just begin creating, your inner defensive mechanisms start to lower, letting the true inspiration and creativity flow.

Mostly, in a new project, the first-ever written elements of the song are rarely ending up in the final version. Because of this, there is no pressure. You start the process, with a piece of paper, as always. It’s just like taking a long walk – you start somewhere and proceed as planned, step by step towards the goal – the complete song.

Because most of the writing you’ll ever do is re-writing, the beginning should be pressure-free.

• Take your journal and a pen.
• Write down a situation in your own life, when something happened, even if it was the most ordinary thing.
• The chosen situation should evoke emotions in you, especially something the listener could relate to. Create a visualization of the moment in your mind.
• Start writing intuitively about the situation. Write at least for 5 minutes everything that comes into your mind: thoughts, details, and visual images.
• After finishing your writing take a short break
• Finally, take a fresh glance at the text – is there a sentence, idea, or expression that could get you started with a new song?

After the exercise, you can start underlining all the good ideas in your text and making lists of song ideas the text brings up.

Try this out the next time write your music!