Writers block...what to do...

It'd like everything I write lately sucks or can't come together....what should I do??

go to the furthest away, dive Denny's at midnight and just hangout. pretend to read a book with your notepad, and eavesdrop on everyone, and write down various lines you hear. Start a conversation with the waitress and find out everything about her life - her dreams as a child, her secret passion today.... write down various physical traits of a number of DIFFERENT patrons, and then combine them all into one character, and write a story about how that character hangs out at Dennys asking the waitresses deeply personal questions

Go on...

I find when I have writers block it's best to take a break. Be it for 1 day or be it for 2 weeks. Clearing your head is ridiculously soothing.

Read books. I think that's the single most effective way to end my writers block. It's like a magical medicine that fixes everything. Sometimes I only need to get a few pages in before ideas return.

Reading is a great way to fire up your writing inspirations. Prose and poetry both work, but make sure it's something that you genuinely enjoy and appreciate.

Personally, I love anything John Updike's ever written. His language and images are incredible, but you don't have to dig through ten layers of metaphor to figure out what he's saying. Better yet, pretty much all his stories are about men and women trying to figure out each other, and hell - what else are most pop songs about?

Does listening to music work??

I have different feelings on this. Sometimes listening to music gives me the inspiration to write my own. But for some artists, for whatever reason, stymie this effect - because everything I write ends up sounding like them! For whatever reason, this always happens to me with the band Bright Eyes - if I try to write a song after listening to them, it always sounds like me trying to emulate Conor Oberst, which is definitely not my sound.

I've heard of musicians that refuse to listen to ANY music while they're writing, which seems extreme to me. In the end, whatever works for you, obviously, is best.

Define writer's block.

Is it, having something to say, but not sure how to say it?

or

Having a means to say something, but now sure what you want to say?

Define the source of your frustration and it becomes a little clearer as to what's "blocking". I don't like the term writer's block. It's such a cliche that we tend to jump on board when we hit a wall and claim "writer's block".

I like to narrow down things to the root of the issue. If you don't have anything to say, start focusing on that. Don't start trying to write a song. Start brainstorming ideas.

*She left me again. She doesn't mean it. Or does she?

*These drugs are making me paranoid. Note to self, beer is friendlier. Or is it?

*I can not bear the thought of waking up one more day to this crappy job. My boss is a total putz. Hey! I'll describe him! Comb over, mustache like Napoleon D's brother Kip. Listens to Nickleback and Winger.

Separating yourself from the burden of "writing a song" and just feeding the fuel supply is what's needed sometime. Elaborate as you brainstorm. This is just fuel for the fire. Winger, Kip's mustache, soup stain on his short sleeve white dress shirt.

Then, writing will come easily. It helps to know what you're writing about first sometimes. Of course, sometimes not, too.

try playing another instrument if you can. Sometimes I'll pick up a bass which will lead to a very different style for me. Also, once in a while jamming on drums will lead me to a beat I like, make a quick recording and let it dictate the guitar riff which will also lead me to a very different riff than if I had just keep pounding away on the guitar....very easy to end up with a bunch of songs in the same key and sounding the same that way.

When it comes to musical writer's block, I have a sure fire fix. Don't pick up any instrument. Write it in your head. Instruments are limiting at this stage. Write whatever comes to you without the restrictions of being able to pull it off or having to tap your limited performance skills (no matter how good you are, you're still limited).

But the imagination isn't limited. Use that as your instrument.

Instead of making another thread, I'll ask here...I'm still relatively new to song writing, so I'm not expecting anything amazing. But what I want to know is, is it a negative thing to write simple songs?

Simple songs are often the most memorable. They provide a wonderful step to more complex songs. But don't underestimate the power of simplicity!!!

Of course not.

I want to rock and roll all night, and party everyday. That speaks to people.

Song sung blue, everybody knows one.

Sing. Sing a song. Make it simple to last your whole life long...

I know some won't agree with this, but I say keep writing daily anyway. In my experience, that

Some things that have inspired me to write:

- Watching a movie about music or music makers. 8 Mile did it, even though I don't like rap all that much. Ray. Walk the Line. Heck, even the Pirates of Penzance.

- Reading a good book, definitely.

- Seeing a good musical performer live.

- Drinking a bottle of wine, turning the lights off, and playing my guitar however I felt like it. Playing in the dark, I've found, is great for practicing technique and really focusing on the sound. (Just don't hurt yourself.)

- Learn a cover song or two. Just beware of the dangers of sounding too much like someone else.

- Talk to strangers. Especially interesting characters.

Yeah, I've been inspired by great movies. Our "Something in the Air" song was inspired by the father/daughter heartwarming dance scene near the end of the film. There's been others too. Maybe I'll put on a great movie tonight for inspiration.

John:

Well I have writers block frequently....most of the time...sooooo

I will do something unusual....I love soft synths, so I'll write a song where I only use 2 for sounds and one for percussion. I'll often program my own sounds....that gets me going.

When writing (I only do instrumentals) my electronic stuff, I too enjoy reading...Love the imagry from LoTR or mythology, even have a couple of mythology dictionaries etc. to get me started.

On the piano, I will just sit and noodle for some time.... say 30 minutes. If nothing comes so be it.

While not a big loop user, I will occasionally use a couple of loops and see what goes over the top....then remove the loops and do my own thing.

Take care

anyone seen THE IDOLMAKER ? http://imdb.com/title/tt0080913/

Wait a minute - your head clears? What's that like?

It's kinda like going from this...

to this...

But then it clutters up with ideas again. or is that

It's kinda like going from this... to this... But then it clutters up with ideas again. or is that

I downloaded your cool pics to add to my collection FM! Thanks!

Best, John:cool:

Wow, love those pics

When I get writers block, I just go about my daily business and listen to people's conversations or anything they say to me - sometimes there will something inspiring said....but often there won't be lol.

Avoiding writer's block is simple: don't edit while you create.

Sounds easy...and it is easy. Writer's block usually happens when you don't write something down because you think it sounds stupid. Bing....you just edited while you were creating.

When you are creating, you should be writing every single thing down on paper, without judgment. Nothing kills creativity faster than staring at a blank paper. Artists need paint, sculptors need clay, and writers need words. Get them on paper...no judgment. Give yourself something to work with.

A

Well said. I find myself self-censoring a lot these days. Too much. What I'm trying to do now is to write a song that I plan to play for nobody but myself. That way, there is no worrying about hurting anyone's feelings or impressing anybody.

Hopefully that will end up with something good, that in the end I wouldn't mind sharing. But if not, It's still a success if something is produced and written down.

-

... writer's block also disappears instantly when you don't write