And, after all this, what have I learned?

Old School remains my mainstay. And to you Beta-Test crowd using Quills, I retort: "CHARCOAL on CORN HUSKS!" smile

Seriously, though - I had a flirtation with "Lyric-generating software", then a flirtation with "a huge Excel list of phrases" and a couple macros to auto-assemble them, and many other Geeky endeavors. None really worked - especially the software. In the time it would have taken me to learn the software and get a MEANINGFUL, CREDIBLE RESULT, I could learn to play cello, and still have time to write a dozen GOOD songs the old-fashioned way.

I still maintain the Excel file, just for single-phrase Inspiration. And some other observations that I hope might help:


1. Keeping a list of phrases, as I mentioned, is a BIG help to "spark" a song idea. It's actually better than BB's "title generator", because only pre-vetted ideas are in my list.
2. After a 15-year writer's block, I recently joined a Meetup group for songwriters. That was 2 weeks ago; I've since written 3 songs. Peer pressure helps!
3. After I mentioned "I've run out of things to write about", a person suggested "Exo-Autonomous Writing" - that is, forget I'm "me", and write from another person's point of view... AND STYLE.
4. An example - I developed a tune reminiscent of the Rolling Stones.But all the lyrics I wrote just didn't work. So, I Internet-Trolled through several dozen sites with lyrics to all the Rolling Stones songs, and lifted lines of lyrics that [to me] epitomized their style. Then I assembled those lines (and re-assembled a few dozen times!] into a lyric. Which sucked, of course. But THEN my own mind took over, and started tweaking and tweazing those lines... always forcing myself "not to think like ME, but like THEM". I am very close now to a credible lyric.

Maybe you're an old Star Trek fan, and recall the TOS Episode "The Ultimate Computer", where Commodore Wesley calls Kirk "Captain Dunsell", and says "you have a great job, Jim! Sit back and let the computer do the work!"

Real life ain't like that, when you're an Artist. smile

We get 168 hours a week to be alive, for as many weeks as God lets us live. What shall you do with yours?