Andrew, here's a second response based on what I observe my lyricist doing...

The inspiration can be literally anything. He wrote a song about a calendar I had hanging on our shared bedroom wall in 1975. He wrote another song about a girl I dated exactly once in high school, who he never met. Wrote another about a trip I made to Manhattan without knowing anything about the trip other than it lasted five days. The launch point can be whatever he hears that grabs his imagination.

And imagination, is, I believe, the key. He's an accomplished "method actor" with regard to inhabiting the story he wishes to tell. For example, we had a stupidly idyllic childhood, but he can write a breathtaking lyric about abusive parents. And he's been married for over 40 years, but has been writing songs about breaking up for...over 50 years.

So "write what you know" is good advice indeed. But learning how to write beyond what you know and about WHAT INSPIRES YOU is perhaps next level stuff. Jimmy Webb was not a lineman, but wrote one of the most beloved (and recorded) songs of all time about the longing of a lineman.

But for sure, it's a journey, not a destination...

DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)