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Tips on getting through writer's block??


Kdandur

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Hey fellow Coldplayers,

Recently I've been attempting to write my own music (inspired by Coldplay of course), but I've had no ideas at all for a couple of days now. Anyone else write? Or have ways to get past writer's block?

Thanks :D

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This might not be related to music but whenever I have problems writing a school assignment I stop for a moment and I try to think in other things that might be silly or useless. This in order to give some rest to my brain. If you want inspiration for lyrics I think you should go for a walk and enjoy the view paying attention to details. This might give you new ideas. Or just keep writing even if it makes no sense because it'll help you to let your words flow.

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Try to write about problems relating to your personal life, but dont make it too cheesy (ex. I kissed a girl and I liked it)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

That's what I'm trying to do, but I just don't know what to say about the problem

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I'm currently in the process of writing an album. The album as a whole is going to be a story, I'm just having Trouble figuring out what to write about 3-4 songs. It could just be me thinking that my lyrics just stink, but every time I try to write, I think it sounds cheesy and end up erasing it and starting over.

 

It probably isn't that important anyway since I doubt anyone will ever hear it. I don't even have a band to play it.: (

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This is your lucky day my friend. I'm a fellow lyric writer, though unlike you, it seems, I am more experienced. First things first, do these lyrics accompany some music? Next, to get through writers block, what I do is I either stop writing for a bit or, when I realize I haven't tried to write in a couple of days because of the block, I start writing just songs about random things no matter how bad. It's not like anyone's gonna see, so just keep writing or take a little break and then keep writing some more and eventually you'll get back in the swing of things. Now about the band, if you need someone to play your music I can help if you need it.

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Oh yeah and you said you don't know what to say in your song about the things going on in your life. Well first off remember you don't always need to have super long lyrics (for a song) with a verse chorus then verse etc. You can you create a few ideas and have that be your song. If I can't think of many great ideas and I'm seriously trying to write a song, since I don't want to write trash (unless i'm just flowing ideas) I will write the best ideas. If I get some more I'll come back to it later. But remember not to procrastinate or "settle for now " when you write. Try to finish. Second like someone mentioned earlier write about things around you. There is this wonderful songwriting book by a guy named Pat Pattison (he is a professor at Berklee School of Music) called Writting Better Lyrics that I use sometimes when I try to improve my songs. There is an method/exercise in there called object writing. Set a timer, choose something in your space to write and using your 7 senses (touch, taste, hear, smell, sight, body, balance) write about that object for the allotted time. Stop right when the timer goes off, even is you're in the middle of writing a word. Hope this helps!

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Here are some tips from me:

 

- do freewriting sessions in which you just spontaneously write everything that is in your mind (I personally never do that but it seems to work for most people)

- read a lot of well-written books. Often the key to good lyrics/poetry lies in the imagery you use. You shouldnt copy any imagery you encounter, but I can assure you that you will become more eloquent and be able to create better imagery the more you read.

- get inspired by nature. Similar to what alisbe said, go out and see the world and marvel at how wonderful everything that surrounds us is (by the way I don't mean that in a spiritual way. I am not at all spiritual, but that doesn't stop me from admiring life and the universe :)) Often you don't need to go far to find unexpected or new things - it could be a different area in your own city or even a street in your own quarter that you have never been to.

- try to abstracize your feelings.

 

Finally, don't force it. Sometimes I want to write about a feeling I have and just no words come out. Accept it and move on. The time will come when the right words will come to you. Very often I think about something when I am for example in public transport or walking somewhere, or I notice something, and suddenly I have a poetic idea. I pull out my phone and while I type the keywords into it, sometimes entirely formed lines just flow onto it right out of my mind, sometimes an entire poem that I don't even have to modify any more :) I bet that's what Chris means when he says that some songs just "come" to him. It's incredible what the mind can do when you let it roam freely.

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Finally, don't force it. Sometimes I want to write about a feeling I have and just no words come out. Accept it and move on. The time will come when the right words will come to you.

Definitely agree and this is sort of what I meant when I said take a break. Cause he's right if you force it too much you might end up just upsetting yourself even more. Still try to write a lot though as get ideas out of you head will get rid of most of the bad ones lol.

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Definitely agree and this is sort of what I meant when I said take a break. Cause he's right if you force it too much you might end up just upsetting yourself even more. Still try to write a lot though as get ideas out of you head will get rid of most of the bad ones lol.

 

I'm slightly confused about this. Are you saying I should write a lot AND take a break? Those are very different things :D

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I'm slightly confused about this. Are you saying I should write a lot AND take a break? Those are very different things :D

Haha sorry. What I mean is write consistently but if the good song isn't coming one day don't try to force yourself to write it cause it will be most likely subpar. But make sure you aren't just giving up after 1 minute. So it's a break but not a long one. Unless you're on a losing streak lol.

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Ah, writer's block my old friend... :tongue:

 

Actually, I have come to object to the term writer's block a little bit because it's more like a symptom than a cause. (And the term can cause a lot of the anxiety that can cause writer's block. Fear of fear will make you afraid...) It gets applied to a whole category of things that hold you back, and the key to getting past them is to first figure out which ones you are dealing with. My talents are more for prose than poetry, but I have found through studying a lot of different creative fields that the various reasons behind creative block tend to be somewhat universal (for me, at least).

 

The main causes I can think of off the top of my head are anxiety, perfectionism, negativity, lack of preparation, lack of self-care, the need for flow, lack of clear objectives, and trying to do too many things at once.

 

To broadly break it down, there are what I will call mechanical causes, where you don't have something you need, and emotional or cognitive causes, where you (supposedly) have what you need, but something inside you is holding you back from letting it out.

 

...Aaand this is turning into a giant essay, so maybe I'll stop there for now.

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I don't write songs, but I do write stories and articles. So, the outcome is different, but the steps are usually the same.

 

When I deal with writer's block, it's almost for one of two reasons: I'll make excuses that I "don't have the time" to write based off of fear that I won't be happy with what I'll write, or my brain is too focused on something to start back writing from where I left off. Both of these are nothing short of excuses, even if I don't realize that at the time, which cripples the writing process in the long run.

 

So, let's say I'm stuck writing a transition in my story; I know what I want but I'm not sure how to get there. Instead of trying to write the transition, I'll switch to another medium to get the creativity flowing again. In this case, I quite literally always switch to blogging. For some reason that clears my head with all my worries and focuses on nothing more than writing with feeling. I make it a point to write narrative-based blog posts and ones that, in a different format, still represent my style of writing.

 

When it comes to things like essays, articles, pieces, etc. I keep getting stuck on, I'll usually switch to writing my story again, or even just adding even just adding notes of things I'd like to see. Again, I'm not sure exactly what it is, but switching to another format almost always cures my writers block.

 

If I were you, try doing something similar with your music. Instead of sitting and thinking of a million ways to get past the part you're stuck on, maybe listen to music that inspires you, do your best at goofing around on instruments to make something, or maybe even try writing other things to get everything flowing smoothly again.

 

Good luck!

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I wasn't kidding when I said this was turning into an essay. :uhoh: I'm still writing it because it's what I need to hear right now, but it's going to be long...

 

Oh wow. That sounds like it'll be very helpful :D

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For mechanical causes, if there is one thing I have learned over the years, it is that creativity abhors a vacuum. A blank page really can trip you up because if you don't do your prep work, you won't have anything to fill that page with. I really, truly believe that creativity is not creating something out of nothing but looking at what you already know in a way that will transform it into something that seems new.

 

Most of the time when I get stuck and it isn't because of anxiety, I find it is because I forgot to go through the steps that I needed to, and instead I am trying to brainstorm a final draft while proofreading and editing it all at the same time before I even decided what I want to do. Any half-idea I have will die on the page in front of me from too much self-criticism and a lack of anything to draw on for the second half of that idea. Or I will be trying to write two things at once without realising it and the ideas will conflict too much, so I need to take a moment to stop and ask myself what I am really trying to say.

 

Yes, there are times when something great will just flow out of you fully formed, but even then you are going to at least check it for typos later. (And I honestly believe when it does happen that it's because all of the earlier steps were happening subconsciously.) Most of the time nothing is going to spontaneously flow out of you, and you are going to have to go through the conscious steps to build it.

 

(For the record, you may have heard all of these in essay writing class at school and are rolling your eyes at me because you really couldn't stand that teacher and it all seemed dumb when she taught it. But I know I forget the steps more often than not and I'm really writing this to remind myself because all these years later and they're still important for keeping me from getting stuck in whatever creative pursuit I'm working on.)

 

The general order as I see it:

 

-Prepare

-Brainstorm

-Focus

-Research

-Action

-Refine

-Finalize

 

Now I'd like to point out something about that list. The action is the fifth step out of seven. I usually want to just sit down and start writing, but that's when the blank page usually gets me. I'm trying to write and brainstorm at the same time and then my ideas just aren't good enough for me because they're brainstorm-level ideas and I haven't fleshed them out yet or given them any structure. There are times I will go through the first four steps in my head without writing them on paper, but they always have to happen first.

 

Also, there are two specific zones in this list for self-criticism: Focusing and Refining. Outside of those two zones criticism will kill your ideas before they have formed yet, so if you're tempted to call anything you write cheesy before it's time to do that, just don't. Most of the best ideas started out half-formed and totally cheesy so don't be afraid to own your cheesiness. You refine it once all of the other work in the first five steps is finished, and not before.

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Prepare:

 

By which I mean learn, practice, explore, reflect, and get inspired. This is the phase where you collect what you need and get yourself ready to work.

 

When I studied graphic design I had a teacher who got really annoyed at our class and marched us all down to the library in the middle of class. She said the work you are doing isn't any good because you don't know anything about design yet. You're just babies and you need to see what is out there before you can hope to add anything. Professional designers will take the time to look through design magazines and get inspired before they start any project. So our whole class that day consisted of going through magazines and talking about the interesting things we found. And my brain has never worked the same way since.

 

If you want to build a house, you're going to need to know carpentry, electrical and plumbing skills, or find someone who can do them for you. You are going to need to know what type of house you want to build, what style you want it built in, what materials you are going to need, and you are going to need blueprints drawn up to work from. You are going to need land to build it on, permits so you can build, and funding so you can buy the things you need.

 

For writing songs try reading poetry, some old some new. Listen to lots of different types of music and study what makes them work. Maybe look up some artists who set existing poetry to music like Handel or Loreena McKennit to see how they do it. Learn about rhythm and meter and alliteration and anything else that will improve your words. Read books to build up your vocabulary. This is the phase where writing exercises are very helpful because they build brain connections and get creative juices flowing.

 

That line I used about creativity starting with what you know? The more you know, and the more thoroughly you have explored what you know, the more you have to draw on in the next phases. Usually when I am having trouble coming up with ideas it is because I didn't do enough prep work.

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Brainstorming:

 

This is the famous drawing on your napkin phase where you collect all of your ideas without judgement. You could keep notebooks of whatever thoughts of turns of phrase go through your head, collect bits of inspiration as they come up and outlines for what you want to do with them, or anything that will give you something to draw on.

 

You want to collect whatever possible information might be useful in its raw form. You'll use this information later to combat blank page syndrome. I find it can be useful when I am refining a specific idea to scribble notes on bits of junk mail so that I don't have to deal with an empty page. Or if you are trying to put a feeling into words, maybe draw a picture of how you feel or what you're thinking about in the middle of the page and write your words around it. Even if you know the words are wrong at least it will give you something to start with. Don't be afraid to use bullet points and word salad if you need to.

 

Maybe you have an idea you really like. Try looking at is frojm different angles and write down any thoughts that pop in to your head about it. Ask yourself questions like what would happen if I had to write ten different variations of this idea. What would happen if I had to do this idea in the style of five of my favourite artists? What sort of ideas would I get if I combined this idea with a very different one? What would happen if I wrote this from the perspective of the girlfriend instead of the boyfriend? What is an element I can use to contrast with this idea? In songs, what if I wrote this sad song to be really fast? Or sound really silly?

 

There is a TV writer named Javi who talks about using a device he calls a stupid stick. In a writers' room when everyone is brainstorming, the person holding the stupid stick is completely immune from criticism of any kind. This lets everyone say any ridiculous thing that comes to mind without fear that someone will say their idea is stupid. I think it's a good idea to have a talisman of some sort to remind you not to criticize yourself at this stage, if you need one.

 

This phase is where your ideas have their freest form possible, so experiment and pull things apart as much as you can and see what new ideas come of of them.

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