OathOfArgos

Hey Everyone,

Now I am brand new to this forum, in fact, I only came here because I need help. I need help so bad I'm becoming almost desperate.

There was a time when I would write lyrics constantly, I had like 3 notebooks filled. Eventually I just quit writing lyrics. It became hard. I started not feeling what I wrote, and not being able to write what I feel. So for around a year and a half I have not written lyrics.

I am a classical composer and a metal lead guitarist. I have been trying to do a Yngwie Malmsteen kinda thing, but where I sing and it has mainstream vocals. I think this provides the best outlet for my inspirations and gives me a good dose and range of things to keep me satisfied. But upon discovering my voice, I found the desire to write words for my songs, but I can't.

See my issue is sort of complicated. I used to be rather depressive, and it was easy to write about how terrible everything was. Then I became a much more well-rounded person (I might even say nearly self-actualized) and suddenly writing became impossible. I tried writing about fantasy and such, which worked for a time and quickly burned out.

I also have one other problem. I am very self critical. I can write several genres of music instrumentaion, and have no problems. Even my good stuff I sometimes just can't keep too. I can't put it all together to make a song. I have put nearly 6 straight months effort into writing an album, starting several bands, and in fact have yet to finish a single song. I know for a fact that my writing abilities aren't the problem. It is something mental.

If there is anyone that can help me, I would appreciate it SO much. I am so sick of this.

Janszoon

I'm a big fan of the saying, "write for the trash can". The idea is to basically stop focusing on the quality of the end result and simply focus on producing material without judging it. Assume that whatever you're working on is just practice and so it doesn't matter if it sucks or not. Later, once you've written a bunch of material, go back and listen with fresh ears. Then make a decision about what is worth fine-tuning and what belongs in the trash.

__________________
A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man

Time & Place

25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die

last.fm

OathOfArgos

Hmm, I will most definitely give this a try. Thanks for the suggestion!

Edit:

And in your signature, is that a Majora's Mask reference? That is one of my all time favorite games. Arguably my favorite.

Janszoon

Nope. It's the title and theme of my conceptual little album countdown in the "member's journal" section of this site.

__________________
A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man

Time & Place

25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die

last.fm

MichaelForbes

Hey...

First...it's a GOOD thing your depression has lessened. Count the blessings. Now...on to the creative issues.

Above all...RELAX. It is obvious you're pressing. Having said that, do not wait for the muse. Seeing as you no longer had depression to draw from, you need to tap into other emotions/mindsets. This is foreign to you, so you are having trouble wrapping your head around it. Sit down... and just write. Even if it's one line. I wrote three piano solos in the past 5 months. Some days, I would sit and just knock out one bar. Other days I would make 1 little change. Yet other days, I would be on a roll. Let the process take as much time as it needs to.

I really hope this helped.

Michael

steve0211

This ^^

If you fall off the horse, get back on the horse!

I think even the best writers go through dry spells in varying forms. Just keep writing!