Hello Songwriters!

It's hard to know exactly how or when the muse will come for a visit...which can be frustrating!  Hearing our favorite songs, it's easy to believe they were created seamlessly, whole cloth.  Seasoned songwriters know it rarely works that way.  What do you do when you feel stuck?  This week we're highlighting three of Steve Seskin's best videos on the creative process and how to get things moving. 

In Creativity and Inspiration, Steve talks about how to develop a creative habit so you have content to work with in between lightning bolts of inspiration. Turns out, being in the habit of writing regularly is the first big step toward finding a regular or semi-regular flow of great ideas.

In Where Songs Come From, Steve uses his song, "That's Just Me," co-written with Trent Jeffcoat, to discuss the various ways that songs are born. Sometimes they start with a title or sometimes with a real life event. In this case, just a couple lines brought in to a writing session really started the song in motion.

In Curse of the Second Verse, Steve talks about what do when (as so often happens), you get stuck midway through writing a song. He discusses "song templates" you can use to keep momentum going while writing. One example is "the metaphor" template, in which the second verse is allowed to be not so literally connected to the first verse. He also touches on linear story songs as well as using a timeline technique. Lots of good tools for getting unstuck!

Here's to getting those creative juices flowing!
 
Creativity and Inspiration (0:25:36)
 
Where songs come from (0:29:02)

Curse of the Second Verse  (0:53:11)

Have fun!

Warmest wishes,