Songwriters, raise your hands! It’s all about you today! Today’s post is about songwriting and how to do it effectively.

Writing lyrics can be a difficult task because not only do you need to be creative about it, the song has to able to touch you emotionally and the audience you would like to cater to.

A good place to start is to think and look back at your own experiences in life – was there anything that was cathartic to you? Changed your views and the way you look at the world? Writing lyrics based on your experiences allow you to create a song that comes from a personal place in your heart.

Next, tune into your emotions and see if you can relate  it back to the experiences. How did you feel? Anger? Sadness? Happiness? When writing songs, it’s important that they have the potential to create impact and ignite passion to those who listen to it.

Back to life experiences, remember that all songs don’t have to be positive and happy-go-lucky. Song writing is the perfect time to confront your negative experiences, especially when it comes to themes of love, heartbreak and internal/external conflict.

Last but not least, have a rhyming dictionary next to you when you write. Rhyme creates rhythm, and rhythm is what garners attention to your song and lyrics. There are many online rhyming dictionaries out there if you’re the tech savvy type. For example, check out this one here.

Need more tips? Have a look at these hints and tip on how to song write published by Ditto Music.

Opportunities and events

We’re always on the lookout for writers to be featured as part of NYWM. If you’re happy to answer a few questions about you and your writing, please fill out this form.

Scribe, in partnership with Express Media, is pleased to announce an exciting new award: the Scribe Nonfiction Prize for Young Writers. This is a developmental award to foster talented writers aged 30 or under who are working on a longform or book-length nonfiction work. Submission details are here.

Need inspiration for the Scribe award? Check out last year’s winner Oliver Mol and his experiences about it here.

“Writers live twice.” —Natalie Goldberg