Page 10 - Song Maps - A New System to Write Your Best Lyrics - Simon Hawkins

"Simon offers songwriters creative parameters where so many claim no parameters can be set. With such tangible tools, songwriters can experience great freedom and expect consistent results."
As you read on, you'll hear about how I discovered how to shift from writing what I call "2D lyrics" to crafting fabulous, dynamic "3D lyrics"; about the songwriter's secret weapon; about the difference between a title and a writable idea; about why the flow of ideas is important within your lyrics; and a foolproof four-step process for writing with Song Maps.
I'll share with you specific steps that will help you transform your writing workflow.
When you take the time to develop your craft, there is a vast body of knowledge that makes up the technical side of the craft, which you need to have before you can shape your songs to their full potential.
Pat Pattison, Professor of Lyric Writing and Poetry at Berklee College of Music, said it best:
"Much of lyric writing is technical. The stronger your skills are, the better you can express your creative ideas."
And Pat is right–it's up to each one of us to decide how much we're willing to invest in our own craft, to be students long enough to achieve our full potential as writers.
Song Maps – A New System to Write Your Best Lyrics sets out clear, actionable steps for identifying the potential of a title before you even think about rhyme schemes and melodies. As you assimilate Song Maps into your writing workflow, your songwriting will shift away from tentative, self-conscious, inhibited writing to strong, bold, intentional and vulnerable writing that does full justice to your original ideas, ultimately allowing you to make the impact you deserve as a songwriter.
If you implement the simple, easy-to-understand concepts in this book, I promise you your songs will be better crafted than 90% of the songs you hear on the radio. It will also transform your effectiveness as a co-writer. Importantly, no matter where your songs end up, you will be confident you have written a brilliant lyric and you have served your co-writers well.
Ultimately this book will give you practical steps to become the writer you are called to be. But you must implement these concepts and follow through with practice.
As legendary speaker and author Anthony Robbins said:
"A real decision is measured by the fact that you've taken a new action. If there's no action, you haven't truly decided."
It's time to stop settling for second-best in your lyric writing. It's time to move your craft to the next level, for the amazing ideas you have for your songs to be crafted to their full potential. It's time to achieve your ultimate goals as a writer–not just for yourself, but for all those who sing and hear your songs. It's time for your song ideas to get out there and be heard, because they were given to you for a reason.
All you need to do is keep reading to learn the benefits of writing with Song Maps, how they can be an essential part of your writing process and what you can do to save yourself and your co-writers the heartache of having your songs continually rejected and to celebrate the joy of writing every idea to its very