The Fearless Challenge is built around prompts. But what's a prompt? In writing, prompts are ways for us to gain access to our memories and emotions. A time-honored prompt is to start with the words "I remember. . ." and start writing, following your memories where they take you.  I think of prompts in a … Continue reading Saturday Songwriting: Life on Mars? Part 3

Right now I'm listening to Guy Clark's "The Cape.“ There are things people create that simply give and give. Finished creations that are founts. That’s what “The Cape,” is for me.  Of course, what's a fount for me, may not be a fount for you. And quite often, it's hard for a creator to know … Continue reading Saturday Songwriting: Life on Mars? Part 2

This afternoon I missed the bus that I was hoping to catch home. To kill some time I wandered over to Robbins Library until the next bus came by. I had Pat Pattison's Writing Better Lyrics on my mind. I've been doing some teaching and it's always good to get back to the source. It's been a … Continue reading Saturday Songwriting: Life on Mars?

This week I decided to take a look at The Swell Season’s Falling Slowly. It’s a song I’ve loved for a long time, (and a reader suggested looking at Glen Hansard’s songwriting).  I’ve sung it with, and for my wife. I’ve sung it with friends when it came on the radio on the drive out to … Continue reading Saturday Songwriting: The Beat of Falling Slowly

Jeff Tweedy has an exercise he talks about in How to Write One Song he calls the Word Ladder. The idea is to choose a noun, (an object, or maybe a profession) and write down ten verbs that are associated with it. Then you make a list of ten nouns, he suggests things in your … Continue reading Saturday Songwriting: Peace Train (& Frankenstein’s Monster)