It's simple really... when you are inspired by something around you, one of two things will come to your mind first, and that is either a short line or a small little verse of music. What I do when I songwrite, is immediately build up on whatever came to me, and I write it down, or record it somehow (phone, scratch paper, whatever..). I think the key to making music is embracing the emotion that you feel, and not a thought or idea you came up with. Thoughts and ideas have finite beginnings and ends, but an emotion flows... and you want that flow in your music. Feel free to message me if you'd like some more input on what I think
In my personal opinion of songwriting, you CANNOT on read on how to do it, nor can anyone explicitly tell you how a song should be written--this ties in with the idea of it being a thought or an idea. It needs to come from the soul, as cliche as that sounds.. and it needs to roll off the tongue and come from YOUR well of inspiration, not someone else's. Here is a small sample of a verse in a song I have called, "Faceless Love"
Will you wait for me
Only time can set us free
Show your eyes, so I can see
True love the way it was meant to be
I was deeply moved by a film I saw when I wrote this song. It's a love song, but not a typical one that you would expect; it's about searching around the world for your second half, and rather a love song created for the one who you're destined to be with, but just haven't met yet. The reason why I chose this verse of the song, is because it mentions time--something that cages us temporarily, but something that is not eternally binding like love. There is nothing wrong with using common topics like love, heartbreak or grief and sorrow. What matters in your music is how you convey it.