FIRST DRAFT

First draft

Every song lyric begins with an idea. The first draft does not have to be the perfect and final version. When starting a lyric, the first draft is NOT the time to etch everything in stone—think in pencil instead. While perfectionism has its place, it can ruin the flow in the beginning. It is far more important to get the idea started and written down in rough form. There will be lines you’ll probably keep and some that you may wish to tweak or change when you come back to the song later, but don’t worry about that in the beginning. It’s better to have too much than to have nothing at all. So be free and enjoy your own creativity. Wallow in it, celebrate it and have fun with the whole process.

Strict perfectionism can freeze the artist’s creativity and cause writer’s block. Avoid it. Write down whatever seems to fit and what your imagination is running with as it comes to you. Nobody’s going to swoop down and judge you—so do not judge yourself at this stage. Let the ideas flow unedited, keeping your personal judge at bay for as long as possible. We all have that internal self-critical overseer, but tell him or her to take a break while you are letting your artistic voice run wild.

After you have completed this first stage, set the lyric aside for a day or two. Even if you aren’t thinking consciously about it, the subconscious often continues to work on the task. When you return to your lyric, you may find that you have a new idea or two. You will probably find better and more concise ways to say what you originally wrote. Then again—sometimes you get lucky with the first impulse. The point is to let things settle and then come back and see if you see your work a bit more objectively.