Embracing the Messy First Draft
Giving yourself permission.
In my previous post here, I introduced the fourth habit, 4: Embracing the Messy First Draft, from the "7 Habits of Highly Effective Songwriters" series, which you can find here. Today, let's delve deeper into this habit and explore the importance of messy first drafts in songwriting.
As a songwriter, you've likely experienced the chaotic jumble of ideas that forms the initial version of a song. While it may seem disorganized, this messy first draft is a crucial component of my songwriting process. As someone who Universal Music has signed, I can attest that embracing this chaos is key to crafting powerful lyrics.
What is the Messy First Draft?
After collating all of the possible and probable components for your song, the messy first draft is exactly where you are with this song. It’s similar to taking a simple title or an idea and making a little more meat on it, such as turning it into a writable idea. It’s more than a title on its own, but it’s not yet a draft lyric, somewhere between the two.
There are several reasons why they are important for our writing:
Overcoming the Fear of the Blank Page: The most challenging part of songwriting is sometimes just getting started. A messy first draft allows you to break through that initial barrier and get your ideas flowing without judgment.
Capturing the Raw Emotion: Your first draft is where you capture the raw emotion of your song. Don't worry about making it perfect at this stage. Just let your feelings flow onto the page.
Exploring Different Ideas: The beauty of a messy first draft is that it gives you the freedom to experiment. Try different lyrical approaches, melodies, and structures. You never know what gems you might uncover.
Finding the Heart of the Song: As you review your messy first draft, you'll start to see the heart of your song emerge. You can then use this as a guide to shape and refine your lyrics, and music starts after that.
Rewriting with Purpose: Rewriting is an essential part of the songwriting process, and a messy first draft gives you a solid foundation upon which to build. You can then focus on polishing your lyrics and making them shine.
In Summary
Embracing the messy first draft is all about permitting yourself to create without limitations.
Giving yourself permission
It's about trusting the process and knowing that your initial ideas, however rough, can be transformed into something extraordinary.
To learn more about using Song Maps and other techniques to take your songwriting to the next level, check out my book here.
Questions:
What are your biggest challenges when it comes to writing first drafts?
Have you ever had a song that started as a messy first draft and turned into something unique?
Where do you store your messy fast draft songs?
Hope this helps!
Simon.