Tuesday, May 27, 2008

How to overcome writer's block when writing song lyrics - object writing

Writing new material - object writing for songwriters

When writing songs, any angle will do as a starting point. One method i sometimes use is OBJECT WRITING. Although it works best as a daily habit, it requires discipline to get at it every single day...

I do this preferably early in the morning, when i crawl out of bed, having the greatest difficulties keeping my eyes open, still drowsy and full of memories from the dreams i had that night.

Don't make a pot of coffee until you finished your object writing session for the day! You will want to be sleepy and drowsy and kind of still living your dream or at least be under the influence of it. Don't worry, the daily session only will take ten minutes of your time..

The purpose of object writing is to dig deep into one's inner sensory vaults and your unconsciousness to unravel its mysteries and return to the surface with handsfull of symbolic pearls and treasures you can hold up as a proud gemstone collector.

The more you practice object writing the easier it will get and as time passes you will be able to discover more and better gems in a much shorter time

The method is simple and requires only paper (a notepad or computer is fine), your favourite pen and a kitchen timer. I usually set the timer to ten minutes, pick an object related to my most recent dreams and start writing until the alarm goes off .. then i stop writing, even if i'm in the middle of something

The things i write should be sense bound .. and by senses i mean the 5 known senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch ... but there are two additional senses that might need some explanation

-organic sense: is your awareness of inner bodily functions

-kinesthetic sense: your sense of relation to the world around you ... especially dancers create spatial possibilities and are particularely aware of this sense ... children spin around to stimulate this sense. Drugs which induce sensory distortion and hallucinations like psylocibin and LSD also influence our kinesthetic sense

I mostly use themes or objects directly related to my dreams to make a quicker connection with my unique inner treasure vaults but for practicing you should begin with normal, real random objects like the taste of peanut butter, bitter beer, a kitten, the smell of napalm in the morning, you know what i mean. Later on, you can start exploring abstractions like love, heartache, or friendship ...

The main purpose of object writing is not only to generate lyric ideas, but the stimulation of your sense-awareness and to deepen the ground you cover .. if you keep at it for some weeks or months, it will open up your inner writer's eyes and take you places that were unknown to you before.

Object writing automates the process of quickly diving into your own unique sense-pool and your lyrics will benefit from a unique and provocative source..

people WILL listen to what you have to say! .. and to sing!



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