#Inspiration: Songwriting Tips and Techniques

3 Major Myths about Where Great Song Ideas Come From

October 3, 2016 #inspiration

All creatives get duped into believeing one thing: that we are hopelessly dependent on the whim of the muse. Here's what you can do to break the spell: | Songwriting tips at SongFancy.com

Ok, so if you read my last post on the perpetuated untruth of magical inspiration, then you know this is something I’m passionate about. It makes me so sad to see other creatives sitting around, lost, waiting for a bolt of inspiration to propel them to create. Y’all, you have so much more creative potential to offer the world – you’re not doomed to a life of artistic frustration! You can absolutely live an inspired, creatively fulfilled life! And it starts with realizing that inspiration is not something you should be waiting around for. So in this post I really wanted to drive it home and talk specifically about great song ideas. Think...

The Honest Truth About Inspiration: You have to make it for yourself.

September 28, 2016 #inspiration

Stop killing yourself over not feeling "inspired enough" to be a songwriter. You ARE a songwriter. Here's how you get your inspiration back. | More songwriting tips on SongFancy.com

One of the things I strive to do at SongFancy is be really real with you. When I first made the decision to move away from home and everyone I knew in order to pursue a songwriting career in Nashville, I quickly learned that this industry is full of people who wouldn’t think twice about taking my money and telling me what I wanted to hear. Been down that road plenty of times. So I’m being really real with you when I tell you one of the harsher truths may have to hear: Waiting around to “get inspired to write a song” instead of actually writing a song is not going...

5 Reasons Why You Can’t Wait for Inspiration to Strike to Start Writing

September 14, 2016 #inspiration

Your inspiration is out there, you just have to be open to it! Here is a little bit of songwriting inspiration for you! Songwriting tips to get you inspired to write your next best song. | SongFancy.com

Songwriting inspiration is fleeting. We grab on to it when it whisks by, and hold on for dear life, carefully easing it into a song before it loses interest and disappears into the ether. Songwriter Amanda Williams calls this slippery grip on songwriting “pulling a noodle from the sky.” That is so accurate! When inspiration strikes, we must be firm yet delicate. You find yourself enticing the song out of nothingness, “Not too much, not too little, there, just right!” And hopefully, if you’ve played well with your inspiration, it’s gifted you a finished song. Maybe. If you’re lucky. If you played by the rules. Here’s the thing though. You need to...

Writing for the Senses: Songwriting Tip for Memorable, Meaningful Lyrics

September 12, 2016 #craft, #inspiration

Songwriting tip! Here's how to write better, more meaningful lyrics using all five of our senses. Show, don't tell! | SongFancy.com

Songs have a beautiful capacity to take you places. When you hear a song that you used to listen to all the time, you suddenly remember the exact moment in time – the way the light looked, what you were wearing, maybe even the exact smell of something. You could say “The song remembers when.” One of the most powerful ways to affect people through songs is through the use of our five senses. The Show, Don’t Tell Philosophy The eminent and beloved Berkley songwriting teacher, Pat Pattison, has a lot to say on the subject of writing memorable lyrics. He has whole courses dedicated to the topic. Without giving...

What to do when Writer’s Block Hits… Hard

September 5, 2016 #inspiration

Writer's block sucks. Here's what you can do to move past it. | SongFancy.com

Real talk: being a creative writery-type person is draining. You know it. Some days, it’s like we have so many new ideas and songs pouring out of us like a faucet that it’s hard to even get them all down on paper. We love life and our songs are coming along great and nothing is better, right?? Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the faucet slowly cranks closed. The flow has been turned off. The inspiration is gone. We have no desire to write because there are no more great ideas and we hate anything we try to force out. Writer’s block has reared it’s ugly cement head In those creative...

Writing Songs that Speak: How to Write Songs that Reach People with Your Message

August 30, 2016 #craft, #inspiration

How to write songs that spealk: Drawing people into your world with clear, open songwriting. | SongFancy.com

At SongFancy, the goal is twofold: 1. Get you jazzed and inspired to write songs. 2. And give you tools & techniques to write songs that truly speak. By “songs that speak,” I don’t mean songs with spoken word sections. Although, literally, those songs do speak! But when we talk about songs that speak, we mean songs that speak to the hearts of your listeners. Songs that communicate exactly what you need them to say. Songs that draw people in. Songs that allow your listeners to be moved and join in on the experience with you. Songwriters always have something to say. Maybe it’s many somethings. As creative people, we all have that nagging...

Free Resources for Songwriters: Introducing SongFancy Resource Library!

August 25, 2016 #inspiration, News

Free resources for songwriters | songwriting tips, exercises, worksheets, and other downloadables.

Hey friends! Today’s the day! The SongFancy resource library is officially open to members! Pop fizz clink, babes! Wanna get access to the library? Sign up below and I’ll send you your password! Get Access to the SongFancy Member’s Only Resource Library The library is but a tiny shelf right now, but ooh, will it grow! We’ve launched with three killer downloadables to get you organized, inspired, and ready to write some new material. Let’s take a peek at what’s inside: The “How to Find Your Voice as a Songwriter” Worksheet Songwriters are all artists in the same way that painters are artists. We all have something to say, a message that comes from...

What to Do when you Feel like you’re Spinning your Wheels

December 7, 2015 #inspiration

Pursuing a creative career is crazy dramatic. Here's how to get back up on your feet again when life gets you down. #creativity #inspiration SongFancy.com

I can’t tell you how often I get that dreaded, sinking feeling. It’s all too familiar. My internal dialog starts sound like this: “You’re not working hard enough. You haven’t booked those gigs you’ve been meaning to book.” “You really should be farther along. You’re not a success. You’re not doing this right.” Or my least favorite, “Maybe you should give up and go home.” I hate that. I hate, hate, hate that. For me, this career-related stinkin’ thinkin’ is cylical. It’s a roller coaster that consists of euphoric highs and desperate lows. During the up’s, I’m getting work done, I’m writing, I’m sticking to my self-imposed schedule, and I’m...

Hit Songwriter Hillary Lindsey Talks About her Creative Process and Start in Nashville

October 15, 2015 #inspiration

So MusicRow.com just posted this amazing, short interview with Hillary Lindsey. She’s the gal responsible for cowriting “Girl Crush,” (Little Big Town) “Fearless,” (Taylor Swift) “A Little Bit Stronger,” (Sara Evans) “American Honey,” (Lady Antebellum) and pretty much every Carrie Underwood hit of the last 5 years. But while we’re at it: Jesus Take the Wheel Wasted Just a Dream See You Again Two Black Cadillacs So Small AND Smoke Break. She’s 1/3 of the infamous Love Junkies (with Liz Rose and Lori McKenna), a trifecta of dynamite lady songwriters who are challenging the state of commercial music with real, honest songs. Apparently, in the beginning, she was an artist herself. She was signed briefly...

6 Posters to Hang in your Writing Room to Motivate Your Ass

September 30, 2015 #inspiration

Motivational posters to motivate your creative self!

Let’s be real — we don’t always feel inspired to sit down and write. We know we love writing, and we know we have to do it every day, but we’re not always 100% on and ready to go. For this specific reason, I keep a pinterest board of quotes and inspirational posters to help kick my confidence into gear when I’m feeling like a loser. I literally have a pin in this board for every fear. Scared of failure? Got a pin for that. Need energy? Got a pin for that. Suffering from comparison? Got a pin for that. I wanted to share some of my favorite inspirational messages with you in hopes...