Writer’s Block: A 15-Minute Fix
I’ve heard it said that the problem with having writer’s block is that there are writers down the block who are writing songs that are our competition.
For 12 years, I was signed to an exclusive song publishing agreement, often referred to as a staff-writing deal. Staff-writing is a misnomer, as those who enter into these agreements are neither employees nor part of the company staff. They do not receive a salary or employee benefits, such as health insurance. Typically, they receive a financial advance which is recoupable against future royalties, and they have a quota of requirements to fulfill, such as a specified number of songs to be delivered and/or recorded and released.
During some of those years, I split my time between Nashville and Los Angeles. When I was in Nashville, Monday through Friday, I went to an office on Music Row and I wrote songs. In many instances, I had one collaborator scheduled for 10 AM; a lunch break at 1 PM; then a second collaborator beginning at 2 PM. Occasionally, we finished a song in one sitting, but more often it took two sessions—with both of us working on it at home in between.
Most country songs are written during face-to-face collaboration sessions with one or more of the writers strumming a guitar. In Los Angeles, my co-writing sessions might be in person, or my collaborator might email me a musical backing track, to which I would write the topline—the vocal melody and lyrics.
Regardless of whether or not my co-writer and I were working in the same room, I needed a stockpile of ideas at my fingertips. I don’t want to start a song unless I can build it on a strong foundation. Not trusting that I would come up with one or more strong ideas on any given day, I always came prepared with what I call song starts. These could be melodic snippets, lyric phrases, grooves, fresh titles, concepts, or chord progressions. Armed with these starts, I was assured that I could contribute something valuable to the collaboration—even if I were having an off day. Being an optimist, I kept my ideas in a file titled “Future Hits.”
I lost count long ago, but I’ve certainly written more than 1,000 songs. You would think that after all those songs, I would be brimming with confidence and would approach each new song as a fun adventure.
Wrong.
True confession: Being a neurotic, insecure creative person, I still face the blank page as if it were a firing squad. My fear is that whatever I fill it up with will not be good enough.
Case in point…
I am currently working on a topline to a backing track produced by someone I have not previously written with. I have no interest in writing a “good” song. Thanks to years of studying and practicing the craft of songwriting, I could do that in 15 minutes, even if I had a headache.
My goal is to write a #1 smash hit that dominates the charts and burns into listeners’ brains. A GRAMMY nomination would be a nice bonus.
To avoid the possibility of creating anything less than an undeniable, international smash hit, I have procrastinated by cleaning surfaces that had not been touched in years. Fear is the culprit.
For most writers, fear of failure (i.e., producing anything less than stellar) is the main component of writer’s block. This is what I do to break down that wall: I set a timer for fifteen “Magic Minutes.” What’s magical about them? Nothing I write during that sacred time can be judged or criticized. It can be the most cliché drivel with a melody that is impossible to remember – – and I still would have perfectly done what I had set out to do. With the boulder of fear removed, I cannot fail—as long as I write for 15 minutes.
Most of the time, the work I produce during that timed writing lies somewhere between “okay” and “pretty good.” In most instances, I continue writing after the timer has gone off, and many times my brain continues working, insisting to write without my conscious assistance.
I’ve learned to trust that if the work I produce today is only mediocre, this is part of my process, and there is a strong possibility that it will lead to a song I can be very proud of. But let’s get real: by virtue of the definition of “best,” every song we write cannot be our best. But some of them will be among our best – – and the only way to get to those is to write all the other ones that are ahead of it in line.
So, set aside the judgement, give your internal critic a rest, and keep writing those “good” songs until the “wow” ones come through. And remember … your entire career does not ride on any individual song.
Jason Blume is the author of 6 Steps to Songwriting Success, This Business of Songwriting, and Inside Songwriting (Billboard Books). His latest book, Happy Tails—Life Lessons from Rescued Cats and Kittens (SPS/Blue Mountain Arts) combines his love of photography and cats. Jason’s songs are on Grammy-nominated albums and have sold more than 50,000,000 copies. They have been recorded by artists including Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, the Oak Ridge Boys, and John Berry (earning a BMI Million-Air award for garnering more than 1 million broadcasts) and have been in hit TV shows and movies, garnering Blume an Emmy and an additional Emmy Nomination. A guest lecturer at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (co-founded by Sir Paul McCartney) and at the Berklee School of Music, he has been interviewed as a songwriting expert for CNN, NPR, the BBC, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times. To receive a free video, “3 Things You MUST Do for Success,” and weekly tips to enhance creativity, click on https://tinyurl.com/yckat6fc. Join Songwriting With Jason Blume on Facebook for free events and daily tips. For information about his workshops, recorded lessons, webinars, additional articles, and more visit www.jasonblume.com.
Community
Connect with BMI & Professional Songwriters