Sometimes I get lost in the middle of writing.

It’s a bit like getting distracted in the middle of a conversation… “What was I saying?”

Unlike a conversation, the words are written down. But the thread is lost. Where was this going?

When I get lost this way, it is often because the thing I thought I was writing has become something else.

Read More

I am not a huge Myers-Briggs aficionado, but one of the things that has stuck with me about NT personality types (of which I am one) is that they don’t like repeating themselves.

“I said ‘I love you’ last week! What, you want me to say it again?”

Actually, I have no problem throwing out “I love yous” like the candy that was tossed all over the street at The Big Parade at the Maine Lobster Festival last weekend.

Read More

In studying early Dylan songs, it's interesting how many of them were adapted (or stolen) from hymns and so on.

He would take melodies and write new lyrics to them, or copy the structure of existing lyrics and create a new melody. He also mimicked Woody Guthrie's singing style.

This tactic obviously worked out pretty well for the guy. Taking the long view, all that copying was a shortcut to developing his own creative voice.

Read More

The performing songwriter has a unique challenge when it comes to their second album.

They had a couple of decades or so to come up with the material for their debut, and now they need to write just as many songs in mere months — likely while touring and doing press to promote their existing record.

What's more, they now have to contend with public scrutiny and commercial expectations on top of that. They need to write hits.

Read More

I have an Akimbo friend who worries about being original.

He is hesitant even to repeat and build on ideas he's heard elsewhere. He’s afraid to publish, lest he rip someone off.

I can empathize. Sometimes, it might feel like we have nothing to add to someone else's brilliant work — we have the sense that we're cheapening it instead of elevating it.

Read More