DAY 3 - HOW TO WRITE LYRICS - 15 DAY SONGWRITING CHALLENGE

 

Welcome to Day 3 of the 15 Day Songwriting Challenge! Today we're going to talk about how to write lyrics. If you're new to this challenge and would like to start from the very beginning, click here.

A song is made up of three parts: lyrics, chord progressions, and melodies. Some people will write all three parts at the same time, but if you're a beginner at songwriting, it's helpful to split up the processes and focus on one at a time.

Watch the video for day 3 here:

Lyrics can be intimidating to first time songwriters and it might be difficult to know where to start. There aren't necessarily tricks to writing lyrics, but there are some mindsets you can have in order to encourage your writing to flow.

The first recommendation that I make for your lyric writing is the concept of "overwriting." Here are a few reasons why it's important to write A LOT, especially in the beginning stage.

• When you're not sure what to write about, if you go ahead and start, the momentum of writing might lead you to an idea that you DO like.
• When you go back and try to organize your thoughts into structure later on, you'll have more options of text from which to choose.
• If you're trying to capture an emotion in your writing, it's good to overwrite because emotions are fleeting. 
• The more you do it, the quicker you'll get better at it!
  
  

At this stage in the writing process, we don't need to worry about structure, rhyming, or metaphors. Right now, just try to write in a stream of consciousness style, and as much as you can.

Then the second goal is to not judge what we've written. Here's why we don't want to judge our writing at this stage.

• Judging your work is a great way to get writer's block. 
• Our judgement is unreliable in the early stages. Oftentimes when I think what I'm writing is bad, I come back later and I like it.
• It's hard to know if lyrics are good or not until music is added anyway.
  
  

So your two goals for your lyric writing today are to write a lot and to not judge what you've written. Your assignment is to write 2-4 pages about your topic. The free template below will help guide you through the process.

If you'd appreciate having extra guidance on songwriting, please consider joining us on patreon and downloading the complete Songwriting Book. For day 3 of the songwriting challenge, I cover these topics in the book at greater length:

• Overcoming Writer's Block
• Clichés and If/When To Use Them
• Writing Lyrics (Template)

So do your best and write the lyrics for your story in the way that you would tell it to your best friend! :)

I hope you found this helpful! If you want me to hear your song, please tag me on instagram @helloabbylyons and use the hashtag #15DaySongwritingChallenge. I'm excited to hear what you write!

Good luck!

Abby

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I'm Abby Lyons and I love writing songs, singing, playing ukulele, playing piano, and helping you do all that fun music stuff too! Thanks for visiting my blog! :)