Yesterday I recommended being a great writer, then marketing yourself. Sounds easy, huh? Well, it may not be so easy, but two things are for sure … in order to be a professional, making money, you have to be great, and in order to be great, you have to be bad.
There is only one way to become a great writer, and I believe anyone can do it: you have to write, and then write some more. The more you do it, the better you will get; it’s inevitable.
I was a news writer for radio for 23-years. Every day I had to create a timely, interesting bunch of stories. I learned a lot of “tricks,” but the most important things may be just get out of the box – start – with anything – don’t overthink it, but rather write simply, for your audience. Communicate clearly … don’t dwell, don’t delay, don’t put it off. Write bad until you write good.
You can’t fast-track the process of learning to write, but you can make improvements faster by being deliberate and finishing work. Unless you have lots of songs and you don’t care about one, finish it; don’t let it take forever.
As an example, I wrote this song last night. I like it! It’s to the point where it’s finished; this “point” can be wherever you want, but I like having a “demo,” a recording that can express the song “well enough” for me to share the vision and listen to it in my car, which helps me memorize it. The song below will soon get a more “pro” studio treatment as well!
The lyrics are posted here.
This is a Seagull Maritime acoustic guitar, recorded with a Zoom portable. These are inexpensive recorders with great mics – note the impressive stereo image.
Best of luck in your writing!
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