What Songwriting Actually Looks Like

posted 3rd April 2011    Written by: Juliana    CATEGORY: All Posts, Creativity, Inspiration, Juliana, Season 4

Because it’s just “that thing I do,” I sometimes forget that most people don’t really get how an artist or performer goes about doing their work.  After shows, I usually get at least one person asking how a song was written.  From the outside, it can seem like a kind of magic. And parts of it are…but mostly it’s habit, and struggle, and continuing to do it even when you’re sure it sucks.

That said, I’m going to try to break it down a bit so that you have some insight into how a song actually happens. Every writer has a different method that works for them, so I don’t claim to speak for everyone, but my process has become fairly routine, to the point where I think I can describe it in steps.

So, before the writing is the “pre-writing.”  This is possibly the most important stage because it’s where the ideas come from.

Before anything is actually written down, I am listening and watching.  All the time. I joke that songwriting is really “professional eavesdropping” because I love to overhear the cadence of people’s voices, how they interact with each other.  These people eventually morph into characters that I write about or for.

I also read as often as possible.  I read novels, non-fiction, autobiographies and travel writing, books by teachers I admire, and short story collections.  There is a stack, ten deep, of books on my nightstand at any given moment.  I believe it’s almost impossible to be a compelling writer if you don’t read. Similarly, I try to listen to different types of music.  I’ll generally check out anything/anyone that someone I know enjoys listening to, and try to have a wide variety of stuff on my mp3 player to listen to when I take walks.  I do have some favorite styles of music, but try to make sure I’m expanding my listening range if I find myself playing the same tracks over and over again.  Pandora radio is fantastic for discovering new people.

I keep a notebook and pen with me at all times and will scribble down notes if I notice something interesting. Often, ideas or lyrics come to me while I’m driving, in which case writing is a VERY BAD IDEA.  For this reason, I’d like to now publicly thank the Voice Memo feature on my iPhone for saving my life and the lives of my fellow drivers many times. Thank You, Steve Jobs! I’ll record whatever’s on my mind and write it down when I’m parked.

Now, on to the actual writing part:

Sounds super magical, right?  I will say, there are days when the songs seem to come from nowhere, when it’s not ME doing the writing…I’m just the one tasked with bringing it into the world.  Those days do feel sprinkled with faerie dust and leave me in a fantastic mood. The thing is, it’s the boring routine that makes the magic possible.If I didn’t show up every day, if I didn’t sit at the desk and open myself up and say, “OK, what is going to happen today?” then there would be nowhere for that mysterious process to go.  If I waited until I “felt like it” or got inspired every time, I would have very few songs & poems to my name.   In fact, the times when I’ve gotten out of the habit of sitting and writing every day are the times when I’ve had what most people call ‘writer’s block.’

Writing is a muscle.  You have to do it to get stronger at it, and if you don’t, it can atrophy.  So I do my best to keep at it, through all of the crappy stuff (and there is a LOT of crappy stuff!) so that the really great things can make their way out.

And, for the record, everything an accountant does seems like magic to me.

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Comments (4)

4 Responses to “What Songwriting Actually Looks Like”

  • erinmakesitwork Says:
    April 3rd, 2011 at 1:33 pm

    Love. Love. Love. I'm a writer too, mostly of home and garden articles and some poetry. While I have no musical ability, I loved these peak into your process. I am starting to realize myself that When I skip a day of writing, it becomes so much harder to focus. So even on those days (like today) when my body needs a break, I try to write at least one or two articles. It makes coming back to it full force on Monday much simpler.

  • Molly_Hoyne_Mahar Says:
    April 3rd, 2011 at 4:58 pm

    YES! This is exactly what I've been wondering about! And like Erin said, I've got zero songwriting going on, but I do find that their is a similar process in writing, or really any creative producing. I loved this glimpse into your creative focus. Sounds like there are definitely strains of Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit and Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way in your philosophy of just showing up… True? What other books might you recommend oh creative one? XO

  • Juliana Says:
    April 4th, 2011 at 6:30 am

    Hi Erin!
    You're totally right… it's so important for me to at least write in my journal every day. When I skip it, I can tell and everything just feels "off."

  • Juliana Says:
    April 4th, 2011 at 6:34 am

    The Artist's Way is full of great stuff but I find it can actually be really overwhelming for artists who are truly "stuck" (16 weeks, and it's so INTENSE) but I LOVE Tharp's The Creative Habit. I also like The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, in part because it applies to most things, not just art. And a book called "12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women" is very cool too.

    I'm a huge advocate of reading a bunch of those books, and then ignoring most of what's in them in favor of your personal method. I think everyone will find nuggets in each thing that really apply to them, but once you find the things that can truly become a habit, those are the ones you should adopt and not worry about the rest (for now) if they don't resonate.

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