Take a big breath in – No, you don’t have to write a quarantine album.

As luck would have it, we have nothing but free time for the foreseeable future! What does that mean for you? Time to get going on that new album? Maybe really dig in a sharpen those chops? 

If you’re like me, especially when it comes to art, I am terrible at doing things when people tell me to do those things. Why do I have such a hard time writing and creating when I have nothing but time to do it?

1. I’m not experiencing life – Therefore, I can not write. For most of us, storytelling comes with the moments we experience in life. We exaggerate facts and numbers until the story is worth telling.
2. The anxiety of time – “This is the best time to write, guys!” Maybe you’ve heard this, all I hear is – Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock – I can’t think of a single thing to write about. And every day I don’t pick up a guitar feels like I’ve blown it, which makes me not want to pick up a pen and start writing. Or worse than that, just stop to think about the thousands of songs called “quarantine” that will be coming out after everything is over. 

The end is here, and it’s so damn boring. It’s like how the radio was post 9/11. Were there some good songs that came out of that tragedy? Yes! But there were also so many songs that were terrible and had no personality to them. I’ll tell you one thing I know for sure. Toby Keith wouldn’t be a household name.

I mean, he’s not really anymore anyways. 

My point is maybe you’ve been crushing it lately, and perhaps you’ve done nothing but 100% the new God of War game (in this case, both are admirable). This is just a friendly reminder that similar to how the world is right now, it will change, and it will come to you, and you stressing out right now is not helping that change. If anything, it’s slowing it down, and we don’t want that! 

So we all know now that it’s okay that we’re not the most prolific we’ve ever been during this lockdown. But that drive is still nipping at the hem of our pants, and you still want to write. Let’s brainstorm some ideas to get that love going.

Write a shitty line – it doesn’t have to be life-changing poetry. You can never utter the words aloud. We can bury this thing! But nothing sparks good ideas like a lot of bad ideas! You just need to get the engine warmed up. 

Listen to Song exploder – I’ve preached this before, I will do it again if you’re a songwriter/producer you have to listen to this amazing podcast! Please, for the love of God, check it out. It’s changed the game for me!

Read Books/Listen to new music – The idea here is to kindle the flame. Most of the time, attractive people have hot parents! That’s nature, baby! The principle rings true here as well! Consume great, new works of art, and you become inspired to write something great! 

If you’re looking for a book to help write lyrics. Check out a great book recommended to me by Jacob Morris (my friend and one of my favorite performers to watch)! This book has even been cited to help John Mayer write lyrics! Dang son! The Book is called “Writing Better Lyrics” and I’ll place a link right here!

Collaboration – Send some lyric ideas to your buddies! Let them send you some music, get inspired, and have someone else hold you accountable for creating and getting back into the flow!

These things are tried and true and almost always get me back into the swing of things. But sometimes it is not enough, and I just have to remind myself. It’s okay to be lazy for a season. Sometimes the love just isn’t there, and that’s just a fact of life. No matter how much you want it, you can’t fake it. 

I hope you’re doing well! If you need someone to talk to, drop a line in the comments and lets talk! I might not know you, but I love you! That’s a fact! Everything that’s going on now, it will pass. I look forward to the day we can hug again (haha).