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Occasional songwriting tip or blog musing.

Stake this songwriting vampire in the heart

Title: DRACULA (1931) ¥ Pers: LUGOSI, BELA ¥ Year: 1931 ¥ Dir: BROWNING, TOD ¥ Ref: DRA014AT ¥ Credit: [ UNIVERSAL / THE KOBAL COLLECTION ]

Count Writer’s Block skulks the inky blackness.

Waiting to sink his teeth deep in your neck for a good drink of inspiration.

Leaving you dry, white, and wordless.

Been there? Staring at a blank sheet of paper or computer screen, feeling like every idea or crafty word has been bled from you?

Here’s the thing, just like vampires you certainly can stake writers block in the heart and…

No more bad caped tuxedo sucking you dry. Right?

Wrong.

That notion is complete bunk.

For one. If you’re inside, and a vamp is outside?

He has to be invited in or he can’t get to you.

One might think the same goes for writer’s block. Don’t let it in and no problem. Right?

Sorry. Bunk again.

While it’s true if you don’t invite or let something in at you in the first place, it can’t hurt you.

But, there is one main thing writer’s block and vampires have in common. An it supersedes the whole schmear.

THEY DON’T EXIST!

They’re make believe.

Not real.

Shine-ola.

You might think I’m full of it, but you’ll find out different in July’s Tune Booster.

Want to put an end to loss for inspiration? Get out of the world of make believe writer’s block exists? Get July’s issue here: https://www.tunesmithtips.com/newsletter/

See you inside…

 

 

 

3 Minutes to a Pile of Song Titles

Since we’re into busting some songwriting myths this weekend…

Here’s one you can foil RIGHT NOW almost by accident.

It’s so easy you’ll fill those empty title pages in your hook book in just minutes.

In fact, if you do what I tell you, within 3-minutes you’ll have more coming at you than you can write down.

No need to skulk around some seedy club to lift a piece of conversation.

You’ve got titles so close they’ll bite you in the back pockets.

A quick point first though.

Everyone’s always scratchin’ around for the kickass title.

Busting it to find something they can write that hit song to…

One that turns the heads of anyone within earshot.

Call me a songwriting heretic, but that’s blasphemous thinking.

The lie is, the title makes the song.

Just ain’t true.

If it were, then Casey Kelly and Bob Regan wouldn’t have had a Tanya Tucker hit with a song entitled, Soon.

Or Adele and Greg Kurstin with Adele’s hit song, Hello.

A good writer can write to any title. It’s the lyric which makes the title, not the other way around.

If the story or writing is good, it can point to anything.

That said we need to write to some title. Regardless of its complexity or simplicity, it just needs to inspire an n idea or thought to hang a hook on.

So, ready to find some titles?

Flip on a radio.

Then, the first song that plays start jotting down phrases.

Like this:

  1. I Would Climb Any Mountain.
    2. Sail Across a Stormy See.
    3. If That’s What It Takes.
    4. It’s Just the Woman in You.
    5. I can’t Help Myself.
    6. Waited a Lifetime.
    7. Spend My Time Foolishly.
    8. . Now That I’ve Found You.
    9. We’ll Make History.
    10. Bring Out the Man in Me.
    11. Like it Never Did Before.
    12. We’ve Opened Up the Door.
    13. Never Again.
    14. The Very First Time.
    15. It Feels Like the First Time.

Taken from Foreigner’s song with the title shown on #15.

Was that easy or what?

You could write a song to every one of those titles.

Title possibilities are endless doing this.

And you aren’t infringing, you can’t copyright a title.

There ya go.

Another writer’s block buster, and this one isn’t even in the next issue.

No excuse not to find titles…

Get writing!

This songwriting stuff running through your fingers?

I’m probably going to get mail on this one.

So be it. I’m not a’scared. Bring it on.

I’d love to hear it.

Ready?

Writer’s block…

It’s an amateur’s problem.

If you have it, you’re an amateur.

Ouch. That sting a bit?

Hey, don’t look at me; I’m not even the one who said it.

In fact, I take it a bit further which rubs the pain from that statement.

I say writer’s block doesn’t even exist in the first place.

It’s a myth.

It’s a lie.

Ain’t even no such thing.

Might as well say you saw Yeti in the backyard.

If you think you have it, someone handed you the stuff coming from the toothless end of a bull and it’s running through your fingers.

I don’t even care who said it, they’re wrong and I can prove it.

Inspiration won’t be stopped, especially by a crazy notion there’s some sort of creative brain fart stopping you.

You are bigger than that.

I tell you all about it in July’s Tune Booster.

I’ll tell you who said only amateurs get writer’s block too. You know him.

For now though, you have less than 24-hours to find out what to do and what not to do with stress in your song lyrics in June’s issue.

Then she goes bye-bye,.

Get it here: https://www.tunesmithtips.com/newsletter/

Aside from all that, I think you’ll find it helpful.

Until next time… keep writing from the heart.

Word Up

alien ship with greenieDo I claim alien abduction for the first week of July? The top greenie at the mothership controls dropping the hatch, pushing me overboard to a soft landing back home in front of the computer here?

Or, do I come clean, confessing I took some time off, and I can’t believe I haven’t released July’s Tune Booster already?

Believe whatever fits your fancy. Nanu-nanu.

Point is, since I was a bit lax, I’m giving a two-day grace to June’s Tune Booster.

Get it while it’s hot, or not, it’s entirely up to you.

Either way, in the lyrics of Chris Christopherson…

It’s Sunday Morning Coming Down.

And July’s issue is going up.

Aside from that note. I was rummaging around the archives on the PC. Ran across the install file for a little program called Word Menu.

Of course, no registration unlock code to be found onboard. Support ticket started on that one.

Anyway, it’s a handy little program if you’re looking for terms when writing tunes.

Not a “must have,” but handy.

For instance looking at types of ships and boats, it gave me 169 words for types of vessels. From Airboat to yawl.

I didn’t know yawl was a boat, I thought it was just a southern expression for “you all.”

Anyway. Oddly enough it’s for sale by re-sellers but don’t see it on the developer’s store, though they apparently still support it.

Google it up and check out a trial copy.

Might could be a help to ya, who knows.

Get June’s Tune Booster at: https://www.tunesmithtips.com/newsletter/

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