A Writing Tip

Songwriting not different than other writing in many regards

I just read this post on Wil Wheaton’s blog, and point #4 stood out to me.

4. Don’t show your work to anyone until the first draft is done. Don’t even excerpt little bits and put them on your blog. I put about 30 words from House of Cards online, and I lost all of my momentum as a result. I’m not sure why this happens, but it really sucks when it does.

Jimmy Webb said much the same thing in his book. I’ve found it to be completely true. If I tell someone, “I’ve had an idea for a song about such-and-such,” it’s done, gone, goodbye.

Here is one commenter’s explanation, along with a point about why you can’t critique yourself while you write.

Re #4: this is actually explained in Dorothea Brande’s “Becoming a Writer.” She says the momentum comes from the desire to tell your story to someone. Once you’ve told someone—even just told them ABOUT your story—that desire is satisfied. Hence, no more motivation.

It’s a great book. Written long before we knew anything about right brain/left brain, the book explains exactly why you have to keep “generating new content” clearly separated from “editing/criticizing content.”

So if I don’t tell you what I’m working on, don’t take it personally. Heck, I don’t like being secretive, I’d much rather be open about everything, but if I did that, I’d not get any songs written or done. So enjoy them when I present them!

Posted 2008 08 28 at 2:06 PM

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