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7 Ways To Make Lyric Writing Easier

Stop Making Lyric Writing Harder For Yourself! Until we suddenly realized we’d grown apart

Lyric writing and songwriting is supposed to be fun and Depending on the images and metaphors you choose, you
easy… but few songwriters tell the truth about songwriting. can write several different songs using this framework.
The stories of “instant songs” that came in a dream or were
written in 20 minutes make great stories, but they’re the 3. Save the Rhyming
exception to the rule: songwriting takes effort and practice!
Rhyming is one of the hardest things to get right in song-
The struggle is real… songwriting is a collection of skills that writing. You distract your listener if you choose overly pre-
improve with practice. You need to be able to create a com- dictable rhymes or bend your lyrics to force a rhyme word to
pelling story, evoke the emotions of your audience, create the end of a line.
imagery and metaphors to communicate your message and
then choose words that flow and rhyme so the lyrics can be I prefer to brainstorm ideas and lyric fragments, then as-
set to music to create a song. semble them into a coherent story before writing lines that
rhyme. I also brainstorm multiple rhyme options and then
Here are 7 ways you can make lyric writing easier for your- write two or more lines and choose the strongest.
self:
1. Title First When you focus on the more important things first: the
story, the emotional journey and the outline of the song, you
Focus your creativity and your song by starting with a have a solid structure to hold your song together when you
topic or title in mind. This unifies your efforts, keeping you start writing the details, like lines and rhymes.
focused on the main idea of your song as you explore the
subject.

Keep a list of possible song title ideas where you can find
them whenever you want to start a new song. Regularly add
to your list. As an exercise, spend five minutes a day writing
song titles and ideas.

2. Write Randomly

Creativity is rarely linear, it’s usually random and chaotic.
Forcing yourself to write from the first line to the end makes
it harder to finish. You’ll get blocked up if you get stuck for a 4. Writing Prompts Are Legit
word or line, or find yourself slowing down… .
There’s nothing wrong with using a writing prompt. It’s not
It feels counter-intuitive but it’s easier to write ideas and later cheating, it’s a legitimate way to ignite your imagination and
assemble them into a coherent song than to write sequen- save you from staring at a blank page. Sometimes the hardest
tially from the beginning to the end. Brainstorm ideas and part of writing is starting… finding the spark of inspiration
lyric fragments… then choose the best and put them into the to kindle into a flame. Find lyric writing prompts with a
song section where they fit best. web search, in lyric writing books, in songwriting FaceBook
groups or on songwriting websites. Write Away’s editor, Jane
You can start with ideas instead of lyrics, and build a solid Shields frequently provides songwriting prompts and song-
story before transforming the framework into finished lyrics. writing challenges in the Songwriters Workshop Facebook
Once your ideas are organized, build your lyrics around Group
them by writing complete lines and rhyming them.
Search: “lyric writing prompts” “songwriting prompts” “lyric
For example, if you’re writing a song about a love gone writing challenge”
wrong, the first verse could introduce the story starting with
this outline: Start from a Written Prompt: use an idea or verbal trigger to
start your ideas flowing. It could be part of the first line or a
You and I were great together subject to write about.

I didn’t notice it at first Write from an Image: choose an interesting picture/photo, or
Google search images for your title or topic.
Little things changed

06 www.writeawaymag.co.uk